Bonds
by Maria Rianki
Summary: From Konoha's skies to the depths of Orochimaru's lair, Sai ends up learning all about bonds. Accompanied by an unlikely friend, the two walk down the road unsure if they will be alive at the end of it.  Non yaoi.
1. Prologue

Before you read this and kill me: I know the time frames are messed up. People are alive when they should be dead and vice versa and such, and some characters aren't even supposed to exist yet. But it was for the sake of the plot... ^^;;

Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me in any way. (And it never will :/)

**Prologue: Repercussions of Friendship**

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"Aw, come on, where is that Kakashi?" Naruto complained. "He's late! He's _always_ late!"

"Calm down, Naruto!" Sakura sounded irritable, and she crossed her arms. "We're going to do our mission, no matter what, so just relax!" She turned away, and saw Sai running up the hill torwards them. She waved. "Hey, Sai! Over here!"

Sai waved back, and smiled in greeting. "Hello, Sakura. Hello,Naruto."

"Geez, you're always so uptight, Sai." Naruto grumbled, looking at him, who in turn looked confused.

"Uptight? Is my shirt too tight?" Sai wondered.

"It's an expression of speech." Sakura explained. "Have you seen Kakashi-sensei, on your way here?"

"He's coming." Sai replied. He sat down with his back against the tree, and motioned for the others to sit down as well. "I have read that a good way to ease boredom among your good friends is to start a game. Does anyone wish to play three way numbers?"

"You got to be kidding me..." Naruto muttered, but he quickly changed his mind when Sakura expressed delight at playing a hand game and grudgingly tagged along. They were about to start when a crow, with a loud caw, burst out of the tree and flew away, startling them. "Just a crow." Naruto said dismissively, then turned to the others. "All right, are we going to play this game or not? And I'm going to be the best, believe it!"

Under cover of the crow's caw, a figure watching the three quietly slipped away before their superior would arrive and soon sense his presence. It was just his luck that the Foundation kid had been distracted, as well.

Moving like a shadow through the city, gliding along rooftops, the member dressed in a peculiar variation of the ANBU outfit, though with the same animal based mask- this one a bear- dropped down and entered through an open window into a small, airy room, which in the middle an old man with a scar on his chin and bandages around his head sat.

"Sir, it is as you feared." The intruder said, and quickly related what he had seen. When he finished, Danzo let out a short sigh.

"His emotions are returning." He said wearily. "The curse seal will prevent him from speaking anything about me, but there are ways around it. The boy is getting too close to the team he has been assigned to and becoming a familiar face around Tsunade. I will not have it. Arrange for his discreet elimination. It will have to be done the first time, properly. And it cannot be done by any of us lest the trail leads back. Hire a missing-nin. No one will question any further if the boy dies in battle."

"But sir, what are we to do should the attempt fail?"

Danzo looked him in the eye. "If the assassination fails, you shall be executed." The Foundation member gulped. "Now, go."

His subordinate nodded and departed.

Danzo sighed once more. "Such a shame." He muttered. "With proper training, the boy might have even achieved A-Rank, and with one of my allies' help S-Rank. I suppose it's a good thing after all that I was planning to teach him the finer points of his art later on in his life."

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"This is all too interesting." The tall figure murmured. They bore an Akatsuki cloak high collar split slightly to show a man's face, about in his twenties, with entirely black eyes, deathly pale skin and messy, pale blonde hair. "I thought Root worked for the good of the village?"

"This is for the good of the village... in some way or the other." The Root member with the bear mask returned. "Now, will you accept the job or not?"

"I accept. It sounds fun." The Akatsuki member shrugged. "Are there any special conditions that I am to know of?"

"Just that he must end up dead, in the end." The bear-masked man's voice was flat as ever. He showed no emotion at all, ever- not even when he was ordering a comrade to be killed. "Your puppet poison- what are the effects?"

"Well, after I enter the victim, they usually go into some sort of spasm, and the poison enters with me. When it reaches their eyes, and allows me to see through them, then the poison reaches their minds and fuses my chakra with theirs. If I am forced to withdraw and retreat, then the poison will continue working its way through their bodies until they die a few days later. Thus why I am just an average fighter by myself, combining my immense stamina and chakra with another person's makes me nearly invincible... this is why I was brought on as an Akatsuki member; they send me after a target working with a team, I can easily use the target to defeat the team and then leave the target to its death. The only ones I cannot seem to control are the Jinchuuriki, on account of the demons within them keeping me out."

They paused, and the tone became creepily suggestive. "Would you like a demonstration?"

"I'll have to refuse that offer, sir." The Root member answered, his mask impassive as always. However, he was glad of the mask; it hid just how unsettled he was by the man before him. "Very well then. Make sure you get it done soon. Team 8 is leaving for a mission tommorow. They are heading to the Land of Woods, Raidan. And if the Life Stealer himself can't do it... "

"Don't worry, I will." The person known as Raidan answered. "Now my dear sir, run along and tell your master Danzo that he can look forward to seeing the boy's dead body, and listening to my account of him writhing in pain as the life faded from his body-" His voice became gleeful. "Ahh, Lord Jashin will be so pleased!"

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"Is it done?" Danzo asked.

The man nodded, handing over a relatively new-looking file. "It is done. I gathered some info on him during our chat and compiled it for you."

"Raidan... Akatsuki member... older brother of Hidan, fellow Akatsuki member... Jashinist, a religion with slaughter at its core... Well done, well done. Now, leave an old man to his _dango_."

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"There have been reports of blitz attacks in the Land of the Woods." Kakashi told his team. "Nearly any travellers through that land end up being attacked- and killed. Our client is basically hiring us to find the source of these attacks and stop them from continuing." His tone was serious. "This could very well be an A-ranked mission, so the most important thing for you to do is stay together and follow orders. If I tell you to run, run. We have little information on these people but that they leave no survivors." His gaze traveled around his team, seeing the serious and determined faces. Sai's face was expressionless- but then again, it usually was.

"So let's get going!" Naruto jumped up.

"Just one second." Kakashi motioned for him to wait.

"What, what is it this time?" He complained, flopping back down.

"The Akatsuki seem to be on the move once again." Kakashi's voice was low. As he had expected, shock appeared on each of his student's faces. Even Sai's eyebrows raised. "A lone figure bearing their trademark cloak has been seen wandering the region, as well. I'm telling this to you now in case we do see them in the Land of the Woods- _do not_, I repeat, _do not_ go after them. The mission is the first priority."

"Akatsuki!" Sakura breathed. "Kakashi-sensei, a _lone_Akatsuki member? They always travel in pairs."

"Perhaps they had split up for just a few minutes, and that was when the deer hunter saw one." Kakashi said reasonably. "Well, I can see Naruto can barely restrain himself any longer. Let's head off, shall we?"

"All right, let's go own those blitz attacker mystery dudes!" Naruto shouted, jumping to his feet.

Sakura let out a sigh of exasperation. "You dummy..."

Sai gave a little smile. _'Dummy? that must be one of her favourite nicknames for Naruto.'_

lll

"Is that the last of them?" Naruto complained after taking down seemingly the last bandit in the room.

His team leader glanced around, then looked back at him and nodded. "There's no one else conscious here but us and the Land of Woods ANBU members coming in the front door." _'I thought they said that their ANBU wasn't going to interfere?'_Unbeknowest to the others, Kakashi was already on the alert.

"The ANBU still exists in the Land of Woods?" Sai asked sharply. All of his team members turned around to look at him, surprised at the tone of his voice.

"Is there a problem with that, Sai? You're looking kind of..." Sakura trailed off, unsure of what Sai exactly was looking like.

"No... Not at all." He smiled, but it wasn't his real smile. Kakashi glanced at him then looked away.

"Stay behind me, Sai." He said flatly, then started walking off torward the entrance. Sai nodded and followed him.

"Hey, what's going on?" Naruto asked, running up. "Do you know these Woodsy guys, Sai?"

The former Root member didn't answer, just kept walking. They were just exiting the bandit hideout when five ANBU members dropped down and surrounded them.

One wearing a catlike mask with mouse ears came forwards.

"Was the mission sucessful?" A man's voice came from behind the mask.

"The threat is gone, as was promised." Kakashi replied coolly. "Our client will be satisfied by the destruction of the bandits terrorizing these lands."

"Yeah, it was such an easy fight, believe it!" Naruto shouted.

Sakura shot him a look of annoyance and tried to be as professional and cool as Kakashi. She nodded to the intimidating ANBU members. "It was no problem. We took care of them all, so you have nothing to worry about." She tried smiling, but it appeared to have no effect. The ANBU were as cold as ever.

"Hey- you- speak up." One of the members suddenly snapped at Sai. He glanced up at them, but said nothing. Kakashi tensed, and behind him he felt Sai prepare himself as well. Sakura and Naruto were still confused by the tension.

"What's wrong?" Naruto sounded bewildered. "We just completed the mission! That's great, isn't it?"

"No." Sai finally said. Sai appeared emotionless, but out of the corner of his eye he saw a man drawing a kunai. An unusually long kunai, almost at short sword length. His eyes widened, and he twirled around, blocking the strike just in time with his own short sword.

"I knew it." The ANBU who had attacked him breathed. "Those clothes, that same sword, that voice... you're a member of Root, aren't you?"

Sai's eyes narrowed. He slid his blade away and danced out of range.

"Number four!" The leader exclaimed angrily. "Stop!"

"But senpai!" The divergent member protested. "This-"

"You forget that this is a team group from the Land of Fire." The apparent leader answered sharply. "We won't come off free for attacking a subordinate of one of our former comrades."

"Well, well." Kakashi relaxed slightly, but still remained ready in case of any more sudden moves. He sheathed his own kunai. "It looks like this is indeed a meeting of the past." He placed a hand on Sai's shoulder. "Now, if you'll _excuse _us, we have some other business to attend to, namely returning home in one piece." He looked around. "Naruto. Sakura. Let's go, shall we?"

"Right. Cmon, Naruto." Sakura wisely decided not to argue and tugged the blonde Jinchuuriki along behind her. The ANBU parted silently to let them through, and then took off in the opposite direction, heading over the mountain.

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The firelight flickered over the dirt ground, casting a warm light over Team 8's faces.

"Now, what was that all about?" Naruto looked curiously at Sai. "Y'know, back at the cave with those masked guys." When Sai didn't respond, his voice became musing. "Come to think of it, Kakashi-sensei, you sounded like you knew what was going on, too."

His teacher started. "Huh? Oh, yes, that's right." He turned to face Naruto and Sakura. "Well, you deserve an explanation. I'll tell you what I know. There was a former group of Land of Woods ANBU named the Prajna group. They were known for their aptitude in creating diplomatic solutions and enlightening those who they spoke to or fought with about both sides. I had the good fortune to work with a few of them. In general they were highly sought-after for missions." He paused, and his eye became dark. "Five years ago, they were all discovered dead, with the exception of a few missing."

Sakura looked horrified, and Naruto's voice was angry. "But they were so kind, you said, for normally flat ANBU! Who would-"

Kakashi kept on talking. "Information surfaced from an unknown source- probably one of the few survivors- that an ANBU group from the Foundation had been ordered to eliminate the Prajna group."

There was a very loud silence. "W-what?" Naruto stammered. "Eliminate them? Like, _kill _them?"

"What else could it mean?" Kakashi sighed. "Anyways, these few survivors still lurk the woods. We met one or two of them today, among the current ANBU group. They remember the attack, and still seek revenge on those that killed their comrades."

There was an even longer silence, but it was quieter. Naruto looked over at Sai. He was sitting with his knees drawn against his chest, staring into the flames.

_'Could Sai really have done that?'_He thought, and remembered the Bingo Book that Yamato had once found in Sai's backpack, back when he still mostly followed Danzo's orders. All those pictures of people with info on them... All those X's over their pictures...

Kakashi sensed the shift of mood in the air and scooted away from the fire. This was something for his students to resolve. If he interjected, they wouldn't learn part of what he called the shinobi's pact.

"It's strange." Sai spoke up for the first time in ages, startling them. His head rose and he gazed into their eyes. "Should I- should I remember those I've killed?"

"Sai..." Sakura murmured, but couldn't find the right words to comfort him. She wasn't even sure if he needed comforting. He looked emotionless as always.

"Those shinobi back there. They had such revenge on their minds. They were planning to avenge comrades that had died years ago. They still remembered my clothes, my sword, my very voice. Yet I... I don't remember any of those I've killed. It's not even that there are so many. If I had killed that unit from back at the bandit cave, I wouldn't have felt anything. To me, taking a human life is as easy as breathing." He looked down at the dirt. "I don't understand it at all... why don't I feel anything? It seems to be that all this time I've been in the wrong for being so flat about death."

"But you can feel." Sakura insisted. "You were sad about your brother dying, weren't you?"

"That's different." Sai replied. "Yes, I still have... feelings... about that, but I just can't understand why I don't feel anything when I kill people."

"It's how you were brought up." Naruto looked unusually depressed. He was sitting much like Sai, with his hands around his knees, staring gloomily into the fire. "You grew up accepting it. It's just that some others have had too much of it when they were young, and took it an even worse way. They set themselves on the path of revenge, and do anything for power!" His voice became angry. "Even if- Even if they have to break the bonds of friendship and form the bonds of hatred!"

Sai was speechless. He stared at Naruto with his mouth set, his eyes unreadable, prepared for any more of an outburst. But instead, Naruto turned his head and smiled at him. That same smile, from so long ago. "I'm happy you didn't turn out to be like Sasuke." He said. "And I'm happy you're our friend. It doesn't matter if you lack emotion in some areas. You've a heart, Sai, and we acknowledge that."

_'Well, well, it looks like Naruto's decided to grow up.' _Kakashi thought to himself where he lay in his bedroll. He turned over and looked up at the stars. The voices at the campfire became quieter and he stopped listening in. All danger was past.

"The stars are bright tonight..." He murmured. "They won't stay that way, judging by the smell of the air. We should get on an early morning tomorrow and try to make it out of the foothills before the bad weather comes." Kakashi raised his voice. "Hey, Naruto, Sakura, Sai. Get some rest. I'll be taking first watch, so you all just get some sleep before it's your turn."

"Understood!" They chirped. He smiled to himself as he got up and climbed a nearby tree with ease. It was almost like old times. He'd have never known that Sai would have turned out to be such a good team member, being from the Foundation. He had been skeptical when Tsunade had passed him the news, and still suspicious when he had met Sai for the first time, while he was still recuperating from overuse of his Mangekyo Sharingan. But now... The Copy Ninja peered down through the leaves and at all the peacefully sleeping faces, a slight smile on each and every one.

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"So are you taking on this assignment?" A voice asked, a voice that sent shivers down even Raidan's spine. But he hid it well, just like all the other Akatsuki present at the meeting. Well, present in holographic-like form, only.

"Indeed I am." Raidan inclined his head. "It will provide sufficient funds, don't you think, Pein?"

The one known as Pein nodded. "That it will. But first, give us more about this target of yours. I have reason to believe that he might indeed be useful."

"To us? He's not even a Jinchuuriki." Itachi had a slight hint of disdain in his voice.

"Yes, sir." Raidan spoke quickly. "A long time member of-"

"I don't care about his background. I want his traits and abilities." Pein's eyes narrowed.

"He has very few emotions, at one time none at all. But the longer he is with his team, the more attached to them he gets. That poses problem number One. Next, he has no qualms about murder and assassination, being a long time member of the secret organization Root, otherwise known as the Foundation. We could get some very useful information out of him, information that not even the Fifth Hokage knows, but on the other hand, as you will remember- A Root member that we had once captured bore that cursed seal on his throat, preventing him from speaking anything about the Foundation and its knowledge base. That poses problem number Two.

He infuses ink with his chakra and then paints or writes with it, his jutsu causing whatever he paints to come to life. His creatures are also adept at carrying messages, and can transform themselves into letters. However, though good, he still does not have enough chakra for major things, if that's what you have in mind. His ink creatures do not seem to possess much armour at all, and can be easily pierced or crushed. That poses problem number Three. Last of all, he has friends now, who he would never turn his back on. That poses problem number Four." His words were cool, precise, and very convincing.

The other Akatsuki exchanged glances, weighing his words, and silently agreeing that nothing could be done. All of them, that is, except for Zetsu. He watched Pein narrowly, and saw something click in those hypnotic eyes.

_'Here he goes...'_ Part of him thought. _'Raidan, you fool, you backed up into a trap. Pein is an expert at turning the tables of conversation around, whether it be with facts or fight.'_

Pein was silent for a second. "Are you finished?" He asked suddenly, startling Raidan.

_'Here he goes...'_

The Jashinist stuttered. "Hey- I- But-" At a loss for words, he resided into an aggrieved silence.

"Good." Pein seemed satisfied. "Your first objection is easily satisfied. Take him away before any further bonding can occur. The second- seals can be removed. You possess that knowledge, correct? Perhaps Hidan might be better for this assignment, but then again, as your Lord Jashin's faithful subordinate, you were taught how to destroy the seals that prevented your victims from being sacrificed. You should know more of your Lord Jashin than I do, Raidan." His words, though in as mild a tone as ever, cut like a whip.

"Hmph!" A voice snorted. "Brother wouldn't know Jashin if he took a shit on his head! He doesn't even use the proper ritual!"

"I have different ways of honoring our lord, you brat." Raidan snapped at his brother. "As long as the target is dead in the end, does it really matter if I have some fun while I finish the task?"

"You must share their suffering with the lord, perverted creep!" Hidan insisted.

"Well, he's looking up at us from his hot seat, he can see for himself!" Raidan shot back.

"Enough, you two." Zetsu's voice was dangerous but weary. The plant-like Akatsuki gave a short sigh. "I'm tired of your constant bickering about this religion of yours. Let Pein finish what he was going to say."

"You don't know half of it..." Kakuzu muttered under his breath.

Pein gave Zetsu a little wave of thanks and continued. "The third problem is also easily satisfied. _You_ will infuse _your _chakra with his. It also can solve problem number Four. Should he resist any further than the third stage, you will just take him over completely."

"Hey, hey, Raidan, if that happens you'll be stuck wandering around as a scrawny git forever!" Hidan laughed. "The funny thing is..." His tone became provacative and he leaned forwards suggestively. "You'll be much better looking for it, you bug-eyed bastard."

"You snake-tongued son of a bitch-" Raidan's entirely black eyes gleamed murder, and he looked like he was about to lunge at his foul-mouthed younger brother, but restrained himself at the last moment and blew out a huge breath.

"I've long since learned it's no use arguing with you." He said, his voice flat. "You haven't even surpassed the larval stage of your development."

"Why you-" Hidan seemed to struggle with himself as well, then subsided. "Go eat a dick, 'cause you don't have one." He muttered, folding his arms. "Jashin-damned bastard that you are."

Kisame remained silent through the whole exchange, his pointed teeth bared in an amused grin. The two brothers had been such fun ever since they were reunited. It looked like it had been the right decision after all to allow Raidan into the ranks of the Akatsuki. Perhaps none of the others were ready to admit it, but it _was_ funny, their fights, and he didn't want to lose that anytime soon.

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"Aww, come on!" Naruto complained, looking at the sky. "Clouds gathering already? Its like, seven in the morning! So much for travelling in bright sunshine, Sakura, you idiot!"

"I never said we would be skipping happily along our way!" Sakura retorted.

Kakashi sighed in exasperation, and to his surprise Sai caught up to him.

"They get very silly sometimes, don't they, senpai?" The boy asked.

Kakashi looked at him then at the road ahead. "That's right." He chuckled softly. "But it's in their nature. They're almost like an old married couple."

Sai gave him that weird little smile of his. "I doubt that they ever will be."

His team leader gave him another side glance, then seemed to make up his mind about something. "You need to work on your smile, Sai."

"Hmm?" Sai was confused.

"Any enemy would be able to see right through it. You must develop more than two types of smile, and be able to use them accordingly." Kakashi told him, then turned around, holding up a hand for the others. "Naruto!" He announced. "You're always begging me to teach you new jutsus, correct?"

"Uh- right, but Kakashi-sensei, is this really the time for training?" Naruto looked puzzled.

"I assume you want to learn this new secret jutsu or not?" Kakashi asked flatly.

"Right! I do! Go ahead!" Naruto exclaimed eagerly.

"Now, then. I shall demonstrate the training first on Sai- the thousand smile jutsu!" Kakashi proclaimed.

Naruto was puzzled for a second, then his face split into a wide grin. "Hey, good one Ka-"

"Good example, Naruto!" Kakashi interrupted. He turned to Sai, who was standing with a slightly nervous look on his face. "Now, it's your turn."

"Do I need any hand seals?" Sai murmured, getting into a ready stance. Kakashi temporarily lost his Gai-like vigour and fumbled for words before recovering.

"None. Let's see how you do."

"Yes, sir." Sai said seriously. "Thousand smile jutsu!" There was a short pause, in which his lips twitched oddly, the end result being a sort of grin that resulted when a cat meets a mouse.

"This is going to be harder than I thought..." Kakashi mumbled, but outwardly he tried to be encouraging. A friendlier Sai would induce better teamwork, and thus better team results. "That, Sai, is the kind of smile you would use to intimidate an opponent when you have the upper hand." He smiled in a friendly way. "Try for a kinder light in your eyes."

"A light in my eyes?" Sai looked even more confused.

"Forget it, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura said dissmisively, then smiled at Sai as well. "Sai can be such a dummy sometimes."

Now the Root member was really thrown off balance. _'She called me a dummy, like she calls Naruto! According to a book, then once your friends start calling you by a nickname in a joking manner, then they have truly accepted you and have given you a name for everyday use!'_

"Thank you, Sakura." He returned politely.

"Any time, Sai." She answered.

Another hour passed. It began to drizzle very slightly. Kakashi looked over at Sai again.

"Sai." He said quietly. "Can you create an ink clone and go scout overhead using a bird?"

"My ink clones don't cooperate with the birds I draw." Sai responded. "I'll have to go myself."

"You should be fine." Kakashi replied. "Scan the area ahead in a circular 1-mile radius while we stop and take a break. I want to ask Naruto a few questions on the Kyuubi."

"Of course." Sai replied evenly. He knelt down, took out his scroll and drew the brush across the paper. Kakashi watched with veiled interest at how quickly the art took shape, and how detailed it was. The life-like drawing arose out of the paper and took on colour and life-size. It saluted Kakashi and he nodded to it. Next came the bird. The feathers were light, smaller brush strokes, created with a delicate flick of the finger-tips, designed-

"Hey, sensei, what's up?" Naruto asked, running forwards. He saw Sai mounting his ink bird and taking off, then looked at the clone. "What's the double for?"

"Sai is doing some quick surveillance while we stop for a rest." Kakashi answered. "The ink clone will relate information to us if needed."

"The ink clone can hear you." It interjected, copying Sai's trademark fake smile perfectly. "Perhaps I am not to be known as 'Sai' for this mission, but I would enjoy being refferred to as something other than 'the ink clone'."

"Sure!" Sakura sounded cheerful. "How about..."

"We don't have time for naming right now." Kakashi interrupted. He waved at the ink clone. "Sai number two, keep a lookout but not too far; you can hear this too." Settling down, he began talking. "Now, on the way back, here's the new plan: if Sai comes back with a sighting of Akatsuki, we're going to have to change route- to avoid them."

"But-"

Kakashi held up his hand. "Then, when we report back to Lady Tsunade, we could very well be assigned the mission of following them."

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Sai flew over the trees, standing up on the ink bird. It was nearly as feathery and fluffy as a real one, but the footing was much better, and he kept his balance well. The rain began to pour down harder, and he silently thanked his backpack for being waterproof. His scrolls were waterproof, but his book wasn't. Snapping to the mission, he peered down, piercing the trees. It looked like an average forest scene...

Lightning flashed. He frowned and his bird swerved to avoid a jagged streak. Flying conditions were becoming dangerous. There was another flash, and then in the blinding aftermath a figure appeared in the sky. His eyes widened, and he moved to dodge the faint metallic streak-

_Screee! _The bird cried in unison with Sai as his foot slipped and the shuriken cut through his side. The bird exploded into ink. The figure had vanished. He was falling, falling...

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"Heading back, we should-"

"Kakashi," The ink clone interrupted sharply. He gazed around. "But is it?.." His voice trailed off, then suddenly he gasped, clutching at his side. "No... I can't have..." Then he dissipated into ink, quickly washed away by the pounding rain.

Sakura's face paled. "What happened?"

"I don't know, but it's nothing good." Kakashi replied shortly. He got to his feet. "Everyone, stay by me in arrow formation. We need to find Sai."

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Not too bad, right? I dunno. This was originally supposed to be just a one shot but things snowballed.

Edit: I disliked how I wrote this chapter many months ago, so I took the liberty of editing it, sprucing things up. It's still not so great, but I did the best I could.


	2. Bonds of Brotherhood: Part One

**Bonds of Brotherhood: Part One:**

**Vanished**

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Sai landed with a thump on the hard, wet ground. He gasped as all the breath was knocked out of him; pain shot through his body as it connected with the earth. Blackness threatened to creep into his vision, but stubbornly he fought it off and dazedly got to his feet. He tightened his grip on his right arm.

_'Not good... I'll have to use my left arm to fight.'_

That same figure from the skies appeared. Through the haze he saw it wore a black cloak with red, cloud-like swirls..._Akatsuki!_

He readied himself for battle, but when he reached back for his scroll he found nothing but his sword. Sai's eyes flickered to the side. There; off to his far right. Too far. He would never get there in time before the stranger rushed him.

"I see only one of you." His voice was toneless. "You Akatsuki members always travel in pairs."

"Not always. I'm a... special case." The stranger replied. "You're quite knowledgeable for a kid, aren't you?"

"It's common knowledge." Sai answered. "Who are you? You must be new to the Akatsuki."

"Fairly." The stranger conceded, and smiled. His long, pale blonde hair was wet and scraggly. His Akatsuki cloak was open slightly, revealing a bare chest covered with some strange tattoo. And around his neck hung a necklace with an upside down-triangle in a circle. But that wasn't what disturbed Sai. His opponent's eyes were entirely black, even where the whites should have been, and he couldn't read them at all. "It seems, Sai, that I'm being discourteous. My name is Raidan. You probably read through the files on my brother, Hidan."

"I have." Sai replied, and readied his sword. "You're going to kill me, aren't you?"

"That was my original assignment." Raidan seemed slightly amused. "But now I'm asking you to come with me."

Sai's eyes widened and his composure slipped slightly. "What?"

"I assume you're not coming by free will?" Raidan sighed. "If you think you can take me down, you're sadly mistaken. Look at you. Your wound is still bleeding. The loss of blood is making you feel dizzy and clouding your judgement. The fall injured you as well; your body is aching and you probably broke your arm, by the looks of it. You're in no state to fight me, much less defeat me. Poor little thing, all broken and beat..."

_'He's right...'_Sai thought grimly. _'The best I can do is stall him until the others find me. But it could take a while. One mile radius... they could be searching to the west, not east.'_

"Stalling won't work, either." Raidan said casually. "I'm too stupid to fall for it." With that, he charged forwards, flicking out a long blade. "I'm not the best swordsman, but in in your condition, I can take you on easily."

Their swords clashed. Sai's odd cut-off Foundation-issued blade shook as it tried to hold off Raidan's. The Akatsuki member grinned, seeing the effort it took from his opponent. He relied more on strength than technique; in a fair fight Sai would have beaten him easily. But now...

They disengaged and Raidan flourished his sword as he spun away.

"Getting tired already?" He taunted, seeing Sai panting. "I must have had aimed little too accurately with that shuriken of mine. Did I hit something vital? Your pride, maybe?"

Sai didn't bother to answer. He didn't even get a chance to fully regain his breath- the enemy rushed him again, forcing him to counter. They hit harder, this time, and his blade flew out of his cold hands. Raidan swiftly sheathed his blade and grabbed Sai's injured arm, twisting it up behind his back.

"There's more than one way to gain the upper hand in a fight." He whispered into Sai's ear. The arm twisted higher, and then finally he let it go, pushing the boy away, letting him fall limply to the ground.

Sai's breathing was ragged. Black spots appeared in his vision again, and now he couldn't fight them off. A hand lifted him by his throat, constricting...

Raidan smiled as the kid went limp. He slung him over his shoulder and then leaped away.

llllll

Pakkun sniffed the air, then ran off. "This way!" He called in his hoarse doggy voice. The pug moved swiftly, keeping up in his place at the head of the now three strong shinobi team. He sniffed the air as he rain, the swerved to the right, weaving through the trees.

"Do you think Sai's all right?" Sakura asked Kakashi nervously.

"I don't know." The team leader answered. "It's likely that he has encountered and engaged in combat with the enemy."

"The Akatsuki-!" Sakura sounded disbelieving. "So the sightings were true!"

"We don't know what it is yet, Sakura!" Naruto cut her off. They jumped down into a clearing, where Pakkun stopped and looked at them.

"Something happened here. There's a new scent." He said, and sniffed the air. "As well as some other person's scent, there's something metallic and sharp."

"It's blood all right." Kakashi said grimly. He knelt down and held up Sai's backpack. "Look familiar? And see- beside this, there's an indent in the ground, like someone landed there, hard."

"Sai must have fallen from his bird." Sakura realized. "But where are they now?"

"I don't hear anything." Naruto answered, then cupped his hands around his mouth. "Sai!" He shouted. "Sai, where are you!"

There was no answer but for the falling rain and distant rumbles of thunder. "Sai!" Sakura shouted. "Are you there?"

"Pakkun." Kakashi knelt down by the dog. "Can you follow Sai's scent any further in this rain?"

"It'll be difficult." The pug answered. "But hey, that's my job. Ninja dogs are no ordinary mutts." He began sniffing around the clearing. "The scent of his blood will probably last out this rain longer than the scent of his clothes, but hopefully we won't have to follow _that_."

"I hope so, too." Kakashi answered, and straightened. "Naruto! Sakura! We're going to follow Sai's trail. It's very likely that he's been captured by the Akatsuki."

Naruto and Sakura gasped in unison. "But- why? I thought they were after Naruto!" Sakura was disbelieving.

"That's what I thought, too..." Naruto murmured, looking away. "Is this my fault?"

There was a puff of smoke. Another ninja dog appeared, lean, and agile- built for speed. It had orange fur and a long white muzzle, as well as a white tip to its orange tail.

"Send word to Lady Tsunade." The jonin commanded. "Also request backup from Team Gai or Team Kurenai, if they are available. I'm not going to underestimate our opponent, an unknown member of the Akatsuki. Run as fast as you can- it should be just a day's journey- but don't overexhaust yourself. You'll be needed to lead the reinforcements here."

"Got it." The foxlike dog ran off.

"All right, team, let's go after them. Pakkun, lead the way." Kakashi looked at Naruto. "It's a possiblity that this is a trap to capture you, Naruto, so stay on your guard."

"Right." Naruto said determidely, but inside he was reeling, guilt threatening to overtake him. _'If they hurt Sai so badly just to get to me... I'll kill them, no holding back!'_

lllllllll

The cloaked figure moved swiftly through the trees. The rain poured down even harder; and inwardly he smiled. Once it stopped and things began to try, he had a new trick up his sleeve for losing those that were surely trailing him. That dog of Kakashi's wouldn't be able to catch any whiff of him.

He stopped for a minute on a wide hickory tree branch and carefully put his luggage down. The boy's face was as pale as always, but... Raidan put a cold hand on the bandage he had put around Sai's wound, then swiftly undid it, taking a clean bandage out of his backpack and washing the wound with rainwater. Sai twitched and moaned, but remained unconscious.

"To think I'd be stuck playing medical-nin..." Raidan muttered as he bandaged the wound. "Not that it'll slow me down if I end up taking possession of him in the end, but I still have to prevent him dying on me before that."

Finishing up, he slung Sai's body over his shoulder again and took off, scowling at the thought that Hidan was probably laughing at his predicament right then. It made him feel better to imagine cutting his head off and dangling it at his belt for all eternity. He sent a silent prayer down to his god.

_'Jashin, forgive me, but this one boy you must spare for the time being. If I had it my way, I would sacrifice him to you without a second thought.'_

llllll

Pakkun stopped and sniffed the ground, then the air, then turned around with a defeated look in his eyes. "I've lost the scent." He said gloomily. "It's been fading and fading and now it's gone completely."

Kakashi's eyes narrowed, and he looked around. His eyes seemed to alight on something, then he turned back to his dog and waved. "It's all right. Thanks a lot, Pakkun. We appreciate the help. You may go now."

"All right, if you're sure, boss." Pakkun replied and then poofed into smoke.

"Look here." Kakashi jumped onto a tree branch, the others following.

"The bark looks funny.. like it's been crushed slightly..." Sakura murmured.

"A footprint! All right!" Naruto exclaimed. "Man,this guy sure is stupid or what?"

"You're right, it _is_an unusual mistake for an Akatsuki member to make." Kakashi agreed. "We can't rule out that maybe it's a fake trail. But this footprint is lacking any of the little signs that fake footprint trails leave behind, namely a reversal in their pattern. So that means only two things: It could be an honest mistake. Or it could be a trap."

"What do we do if it's a trap?" Naruto asked.

"We keep on going." Kakashi replied, startling them. "Our target would be in too much hurry to get away from us _and_ leave behind any lasting traps. If it would be some sort of trap, then it would be when we get close enough to him. Then, we'll split. There's only one thing that's troubling me..." His voice trailed off.

"Akatsuki travel in pairs, don't they?" Sakura said.

"Exactly. But there's only one set of footprints, and Pakkun confirmed earlier that there were only two people at the battle site. Where is the second one hiding?"

Kakashi was now faced with a difficult choice: Go on regardless of his worries, and possibly walk into a trap, leaving the mission undone?..

_'But those who don't care about their friends are worse than scum.'_Obito's voice rang through his head. Kakashi gave a start. It was almost as if the boy had been standing right next to him, right there, right then. He could still feel his presence close to him. After a second Kakashi relaxed.

"We're going after Sai." He announced. "Get into arrow formation again. We're going to follow these tracks. If we let even this trail slip from our grasp the reinforcements will arrive and we'll have nothing to show for it."

lllll

"So this newcomer is an artist, yeah?" The blonde Akatsuki asked Kisame. The two were sitting, relaxed, in the lair.

"Yeah." The sharklike man answered. "Apparently he's real good. Might give you some competition, Deidara."

"No way. Art is an explosion! I'd like to see his _drawings_explode, mm." Deidara shot back. "In fact, they probably will, when I test my creations against them."

"Not after Raidan's done with him." Kisame answered. "He's like that snake bastard. Give him a subject to play with and you won't recognize them afterwards."

Deidara frowned. He wouldn't put the man in the same league as Orochimaru, but they both had a penchant for sadism. He was sure Raidan, given Itachi's Sharingan, would be the happiest man in the world, using Tskuyomi left and right to torture his victims without killing them and spoiling the fun. Also, they _did _both do some interesting experiments. Raidan had demonstrated his chakra/soul fusion techniques for the Akatsuki on a test subject, and the results were interesting. In a way... they were art. A difficult art indeed, but too new-age for him. Combining different materials and types didn't result in _real _art. It was just a hybrid; a mutant. His art was pure, fleeting, and explosively fantastic.

"I take it if everything goes according to plan, then this Sai will become my partner, mm. My partner and our new brother, eh?"

"Ai, that's probably right." Kisame answered. "I can't say I envy you. Itachi's not too bad to get along with, so I'm glad I'll be sticking with him instead of some kid."

"I don't know." Deidara smiled, then. "I had a stunning rapport going on with my man Sasori. Fellow artists always should stick together. They share a special bond, mm."

"The loss of our puppeteering brother was great." Kisame agreed. "But let's not get all sticky over that."

"Akatsuki members have to be silent and cool, yeah." Deidara agreed.

llllllll

Raidan's eyes narrowed. His constants stops to tend to the boy were getting annoying. The wound was getting along fine, but now, on the second day of travel, he was getting a bit tired carrying him on his back so far. The sunshine filtered through the trees and he slowed down, coming to rest in another forest clearing. The ground was sandy and light, but hard-packed. Perfect for his purposes. Raidan leaned the boy against a tree, securing his hands with metal wires and giving a little start when Sai stirred and moaned. The sedative poison he had administered ought to have held longer. But then again, this kid was full of surprises.

Sai's eyes slowly blinked open, and he saw his captor staring at him, the large black orbs of eyes blinking once.

"Sai, wasn't it?" The man said pleasantly, but his voice was as creepy as his face. But Sai wasn't easily fazed.

"What are you planning to do with me?" Sai asked simply, not even flinching as a pale hand reached out and stroked his neck, coming to a rest on his shoulder.

"This and that, a few things. But what concerns me now most is information. Your master Danzo placed a seal on your throat, didn't he?"

Sai's eyes widened slightly. "How did you know?"

"Well, now, when we captured a shinobi from the Foundation some years ago, he wore the same little neck-band as you do, and resisted fiercely when we tried to take it off. Now, then, I wonder, if you have the same kind of seal on your pretty little neck?" The hand reached up, grasped the black band, and with a swift jerk tore it off. There exposed on Sai's throat, about two inches in diameter, was a rectangular curse seal. Raidan whistled. "Not too shabby work, this one."

Sai's voice was flat as ever. "It's useless attempting to get any information out of me. I cannot tell you even if I wanted to, which I assure you I don't."

"Did I mention what happened to that Foundation member?" Raidan asked innocently, moving his sitting position closer to Sai. "There's a reason why I'm interrogating you, now. Once we _removed_ his seal..."

"You- You can't have." Sai murmured. "Lord Danzo performed these himself..."

"...He _died_in the process." Raidan ran a hand through Sai's neat black hair and brought his face close to the boy's, at last seeing some fear in them. "Pretty as you are, I don't know if you'll stand a better chance. But orders are orders."

Pein's parting words form their last meeting rang in the Akatsuki's head. _"Try to remove that seal of his and get him to talk, while you're at it." Pein said, and his eyes narrowed. "But don't injure him too badly. We need him." _

"Well, Pein, it can't be helped." Raidan muttered, and placed two fingers on Sai's seal. "Here we go!" His fingertips glowed with white light where they touched the paper-white skin, and then the seal glowed pure white as well. Sai's teeth gritted and his eyes shut tight, but there was no escaping the pain. It was burning hot, getting hotter all the time... his mouth opened but no sound came out. The curse sheared through his body like lightning.

"Lord Jashin, release your sacrifice from his bonds so you may take hold of him... release him from his bonds... your loyal subject gives his power to you... all of his power, so that you may take this gift as well..." Raidan muttered in a continuous chant. Sai screamed, then, as the pain increased tenfold. One of the rectangular marks faded from his skin. His screams just grew as Raidan's chants grew louder and louder, more chakra than he could have ever imagined pouring into his body, peeling off those seals with such agonizing precision.

_"Halfway done...'_Raidan thought as he concentrated on the third rectangle. After several more minutes of intense concentration he sighed, cutting off the flow of chakra.

"Well, precious, you're done." He finally announced, then when there was no reply he looked down. Oh. right. The pale face unnerved him. Even after that, even unconscious, it radiated some sort of... defiance? It was almost a mask. He longed to tear that porcelain mask off and see pain on the brats face again, hear him screaming... Raidan took a shaky breath, trying to control himself. Orders, orders. He briefly considered the risks of moving his captive so soon after the stressing procedure, then decided that the risks of his team catching up to them were far greater. With a grunt he picked up Sai again and slung him over his back, taking off once more. But anyone who was watching closely could see that this time his feet never connected with the tree bark, seemingly just bouncing off of air. There was a while to go yet- and now that the desealing was completed, he could start using his chakra to cover his tracks much better. No one would be able to follow him now.

He bounded from branch to branch, making an almost comical sight with his shoulder-length bleached blonde hair flying out behind him. But his large, almond-shaped black eyes canceled out any humour in the sight, as well as the sharp teeth that he showed when he yawned once.

Another half day of travel passed slowly. The sun seemed to take its time across the blue sky.

Sai slowly stirred awake. He felt nauseous and sick to his stomach, which wasn't surprising considering that he was being carried flour-sack style as his captor bounded with ease through the trees.

"You're taking me somewhere specific?" He rasped. His throat was still raw from the treatment it had received earlier.

"You're pretty dim-witted for someone from the Foundation." Was the even reply. "Of course I am."

Sai was silent for a moment, judging the situation. The bandage around his body had been replaced, and his broken arm bound. He chose a polite tone. "Forgive me, but I had assumed that you would be using me as bait to capture Naruto."

"Unfortunately no. I take it back- you're bright after all- but no. My leader requests an audience of sorts with you." Raidan sighed. "My abilities don't extend to capturing Jinchuuriki."

"What are those abilities, may I ask?" Sai asked, sounding as if he were talking to Raidan face-to-face, and not being carried by him. He was a master at making things seem so normal.

Raidan grunted. "Obviously not medical ninjutsu. I apologize if my work's a little shabby."

He caught Sai off-guard with the apology. _'First he captures me... then he tortures me, taunts me... and now he's apologizing and being polite? I must keep my words civil and hopefully avoid changing his mood.' _"Actually, it's quite good. Thank you." Sai replied.

Raidan scowled, knowing full well that his captive couldn't see the expression on his face. But he couldn't see the others expression, as well. This left him to imagine the little mocking smile that Sai could've been wearing. _'Freak... he won't be smiling when Pein has had his talk with him, and he gets a share of Kakuzu's "medical" jutsu.'_But still, the thought of that smile made him take a longer, faster and jerkier step that usual in his anger. Sai winced as his wound was aggravated, but wisely chose to remain silent.

In some mannerisms, Raidan was very much like his brother. After a little while he couldn't take the silence any longer and the hereditary foul mouth surfaced.

"Damnit, say something." He said testily.

"Something." Sai said innocently. He couldn't resist the temptation to be a little annoying once more. He had tried his best to curb his tongue, but in some cases he just had to.

"Fuck that." Raidan snapped back. It felt good to argue again, actually. He searched through a list of things to say that would provoke Sai into answering him again.

lllllll

"His trail's vanished." Kakashi finally delivered the verdict. "He's gone."

"How can you say that, sensei?" Sakura shouted at him, startling both men. Well, man and boy. Naruto didn't classify as a man yet. "Are we just going to give up on our teammate?"

"Sakura, I understand how you feel." Kakashi said tiredly, turning to face her. There was real feeling in his voice, and Sakura shut up when she heard it. "But there's no way we can just head off blindly and follow a trail that isn't there. He must have gotten wise to us at last."

"So Sai... Sai's really gone?" Naruto asked, his throat dry. Kakashi glanced at him, unusually grim, and nodded. All this time he retained some shred of hope, but now that his sensei was confirming it... Naruto stood there for a second, then yelled and punched the nearest tree. "God- DAMNIT!" He sank to the ground. "Damnit..." He repeated, more softly. "It's all my fault, isn't it?"

"Don't be stupid, Naruto." Sakura knelt by him. "If it was a trap for you, then the trail wouldn't have vanished. Whoever took Sai would have wanted us to follow him. He wouldn't have tried to hide his tracks." She looked up. "Am I right, sensei?"

"You're right, Sakura. Don't blame yourself." Kakashi said in as soothing a tone as he could manage. He stuck his hands in his pockets and walked a few feet away, back to where they came. His voice was soft, too low for the others to hear. "If there's anyone to blame, it should be me... I thought that I hadn't sensed anybody while travelling, but now it's clear that whoever it was that did it had been watching us for a while." He raised his voice. "We have to backtrack and meet up with the backup team at the recon point. Get up, Naruto. Get up, Sakura. There's nothing else we can do here. The best thing we _can_do, though, is get back to the village and I'll start reviewing these reports of the Akatsuki seen in these woods."

"Right." Sakura sniffled, wiping away a tear, accepting Naruto's helping hand. The three took off, and traveled in silence. The exhaustion from travelling so far and attempting to catch up with their friend was taking its toll, but none of them wanted to show it.

Their lithe forms went from branch to branch, almost flying through the air. Kakashi occasionally glanced back at his diminished team to see how they were doing, and was met with determined faces. He almost smiled at that. What wonders a pep talk could create... now they had hope again. The funny thing was, he did too. And that hope increased when he saw who was to be working with them on Sai's retrieval.

The three-person team jumped down onto soft grass and strode torward the backup team: Team 8.

They were perfect for any tracking and locating that would need to be done in the future: Kiba and Akamaru, with their incredible sense of smell; Hinata Hyuga, with her Byakugan eyes that would be able to pierce through the walls of any secret lair; Shino Aburame, with his parasitic insects that could scout, locate, attach onto and thus track the movements of the enemy as well as attack them if needed; and Kurenai Yuhi, her calm leadership and coolness harnessing each different personality and trait to use them in teamwork to the fullest extent on a mission.

"Hinata!" Naruto yelled joyfully, and for a moment all his worries were dispelled as they embraced. "God, I haven't seen you for a while..." He said. Hinata blushed furiously. Despite them being together for a while now, she still could not rid herself of the gap in her self-confidence whenever she was with Naruto. When they at last disengaged Naruto made sure to greet Shino next, knowing of how self-conscious the chunin was. Last of all he high-fived Kiba, petting Akamaru. Sakura coaxed the latest village gossip out of Hinata as Kakashi and Kurenai looked at the scene with amusement.

"What a happy reunion." Kurenai joked.

Kakashi's smile disappeared. "I only wish we weren't one member short in this reunion."

She grasped his implications immediately and her eyes shadowed. "Fill us in on the way back to the village." Then she glanced up at the sky and changed her mind at seeing the telltale signs of sunset. "Actually, around the campfire. It seems there's a lot to discuss."

llllllllll

I know some things are still incorrect. But I swear those were on purpose. I remember reading in the manga that the seal Danzo placed on Root members was on their tongue, but it would have made writing that scene very awkward for me, so I switched things around a bit.

Now, let's see how they go about going after their precious teammate!


	3. Bonds of Brotherhood: Part Two

I guess I should put in a word of explanation as to the layout of this story. It's almost like a collection of stories based on a single, dominant theme: Bonds. But as you know, there are different types of bonds, and Sai is going to learn most, if not all.

**Bonds of Brotherhood: Part Two:**

**A Bad Beginning**

llll

"Do you ever get tired?" Sai asked as the third morning of travel dawned. The man had been in constant motion, and they only stopped a few times to take care of basic things like food and drink. Sai had mastered many forms of art, and among them was the art of sleeping on the go, or sleeping while standing. But as far as he knew, Raidan hadn't slept at all.

"That's another reason why I was allowed to join." Raidan answered. He didn't _sound_ tired... "I only need to sleep once a week. Technically I don't need to eat, either, or drink, like my brother. But I like to. It gives me a tad bit more energy, and that counts for a lot in the long run."

"That's interesting." Sai answered, frusterated at the constant chafing of the binding wires around his wrists. _'He's being very careful, never letting his guard down... there's little I can do unarmed like this, and with an arm broken. With the positioning of this side wound, any attempts to escape will result in me leaving a gallon of blood on the forest floor and then being towed back, probably beaten, then patched up and taken away again. And when he removed that curse mark, I felt something else entering me. Like a poison of some sorts- that would explain my weakness. Though how he managed to administrate poison by that, I don't know._

_I'll just have to wait until we reach the destination. He's keeping me alive, now, and avoiding hurting me so much, so it only makes sense that I will be relatively unharmed there as well.'_

"I don't know about that." Raidan said abruptly. "If you don't stop thinking about escape, then 'avoiding hurting me so much' will change, and screw my orders."

Sai's eyes widened slightly. "What?" _What? He knew what I was thinking? Can he really?...'_

"When I put my mind to it, yes. I had a hunch that you would be planning escape while trying to make small talk. You're the kind who never takes off his mask, are you?"

Sai had to admit defeat. "Yeah." There was silence for a long while following his words, in which he tried to doze off again and keep his mind blank in case Raidan was listening in. They had left the decidous woods by then and were in the foothills of mountains, the smell of pine thick and strong. Needles carpeted the ground and the trees grew thinner, forcing Raidan to take to the ground, but his movements were still noiseless. He slowed to a walk.

The air seemed damper, here, the sparse beams of light struggling through the thick layer of thin branches. Dusty sunlight. The trees looked unhealthy and underfed, and grey rocks began to break up the carpet of brown and dead things. It was one of the most depressing places Sai had ever been, and that was saying a good deal. Finally Raidan came to a stop at a seemingly unmarked cliff face. Unmarked, that was, but for an odd black symbol high up on the rock... His captor touched the cliff face with his ring, murmuring something unintelligible, then stepping forwards as a small section of rock rose up and revealed a tunnel going at a downwards slant.

The rock closed off behind them. Sai stared longingly at the weak light of day before it dissapeared completely, replaced by the ominous flickering of torches.

The tunnel had some side tunnels leading off. Sai looked at each one through narrowed eyes, memorizing them, forming a map in his head for future use. If he was going to be held captive in the Akatsuki's hideout and then break out, he had damn well better have something to show for it. Raidan took a turn into a right-hand tunnel, entering into a large, bare room. Bare but occupied; the members of the Akatsuki stood along the walls.

"One Foundation-trained shinobi from the Hidden Leaf Village, as was promised." Raidan said slightly sarcastically, and dumped Sai on the ground.

There was no way he was going to face an organization of S-Class criminals sitting down. Sai struggled to his feet, head spinning from the sudden change from a horizontal position to a vertical one.

"Already trying to stand up, mm?" One of the Akatsuki members commented. Sai's eyes flickered to them- a blonde, ponytailed man with a foxy grin. He mentally reviewed his files. Deidara, the one with the explosive clay.

"Looks like he's actually considering which one of us to take down first." Another laughed. Sai's gaze turned to them- A tall, blue-skinned man with what appeared to be gills on his cheek bones. Kisame Hoshigaki, the monster of the Hidden Mist. But there were several others he didn't know. One stepped forwards.

Sai didn't betray even a hint of shock as his black eyes met with the hypnotic, purple and ringed eyes of the Rinnegan. Those eyes were framed by a shock of bright orange hair, the face holding multiple piercings through the nose, below the mouth, and through the ears. His face remained impassive as the man- obviously the leader by his air of command- spoke.

"Sai of the Hidden Leaf Village... It seems I finally can welcome you here, to our hideout." The man said. "I am known as Pein."

"Pein..." Sai murmured, then raised his voice. "Hardly a welcome if you're leaving your guest in the dark. Would you mind enlightening me on the future you've planned for me? Torturing me for information, perhaps, until I give out and die on you. Or perhaps you're going to set me up as bait for that Jinchuuriki who so often evades you."

"Your suggestions are tempting." Pein responded. He hadn't even blinked once. "But no. We have lost one of our members relatively recently. You, Sai, are going to take his place. You are going to join us, tell us everything you know, and then carry out missions with us."

That did it. Raidan could barely supress his glee as the porcelain mask shattered and Sai's eyes widened in shock, as well as leaving him speechless for a moment.

"Are my words really so surprising?" Pein asked dryly.

"Forgive me, but..." Sai managed to find his tongue. "You are mistaken to think that I would ever accept."

The tone became icy. "I never offered the position to you. It never was voluntary from the beginning. Raidan- show him what the real effects of your poison are."

The pale blonde man sighed. "As you wish." He raised his hand, and then closed it, forming a fist. Suddenly there was a corresponding pain shooting through Sai. He grimaced, fighting back against it, but then... his arm rose. Uncomprehending at first. Sai tried to lower it again, but found he couldn't. It became a battle of wills. But Raidan had the upper hand from the start. All he had to do was keep increasing the pain until Sai dropped to his knees, teeth clenched to stop any groan from escaping him. The arm stayed raised, then it lowered. Sai stood up, stiffly at first, but his movements became smoother and more natural as Raidan adjusted to the task and the feel of his body.

"See, brat? It's hopeless. All you can do is go along with the flow. Be like the river and simply accept it when a bend comes by; don't try to force your way straight but turn when necessary, and flow on."

"Ahh, stop it." A silver-haired but still young looking man yawned from the corner. "You're as bad as pops ever was, bro. Your poetry is about as badass as aetheists."

Raidan's face coloured in anger and he released Sai from his hold, leaving the boy gasping.

"Shut your trap, Hidan! Whenever you go and try to be badass you end up treating everything like a big joke!"

Pein didn't say a word. He just held up his hand and the fighting ceased, though glares between the warring brothers were still exchanged. He looked at Sai, who was kneeling, staring at the ground in disbelief.

"He will always be able to sense your movements, now, even when on his own missions." Pein told him. "Should you start behaving in an undesirable manner... Well, there are things worse than death." His head raised and his eyes gazed around the room. "Kakuzu, you stay here with me and the boy. Everyone else, leave."

The treasurer of the Akatsuki raised his eyebrow once everyone else had exited. "Yes, Pein?"

"He has a troublesome wound that I want you to sew up." Pein commanded. "Get to it. And try to be a little more gentle, if you can. He's not immortal like your partner."

Sai's head snapped back up then. Greyish...thick..._threads_ were shooting out of a a split in the seams at the tips of Kakuzu's fingers. He scrambled to his feet and tried to dodge, but his movements froze and agony ripped through his body. Sai groaned, falling against the wall. His legs... why wouldn't they move as he told- _Raidan! _The realization hit him like a hammer.

_'Damnit!'_ He cursed mentally. _'Those weren't empty threats.'_In that moment, the living threads encircled him and bound his arms, securing his legs, then creeped across his face. Sai tried to struggle but it was futile; he was no match for the person who now shared control over his body. The threads covered his mouth, silencing him. He could only watch in horror as the bandage was torn away and a long, devilishly pointed thread snaked across his stomach before making the first strike. It pierced the skin and then moved across the wound, coming up and then back, pulling the torn edges together. Sai's new screams were muffled. Now he understood the purpose of the gag and the restraints. It was sickening, the grey stitches rippling slightly, like worms were being used to seal the injury. The flesh of his stomach and navel area was being knitted back together. Blood made a little pool on the floor, not soaking into the stony ground.

Finally the brutal surgery ended. The threads retreated and dissapeared into Kakuzu's hand again. Kakuzu grabbed Sai by an arm and hoisted him up. Sai stumbled along behind him, and didn't say a single word when he was shoved into a small room with a bed, a drawer, a desk and a seperate washroom. The door closed behind him, but Sai failed to notice that there was no sound of a lock clicking into place. He fell facefirst onto the bed and succumbed to welcome darkness.

llllllllll

It felt like hours later when Sai woke up. He stirred, and yawned, then instantly regretted it as pain surged through his recently stitched-up side. After a moment it subsided, and more carefully now he got up and looked around. On the desk lay.. his eyebrows raised and he walked over.

On the basic wooden desk was his backpack! His heart racing, he fumbled with the zipper and opened it, laying the items out. Nothing was missing. His ink scrolls, the ink, his brush, his sketchbook, his paints, his pencils and coloured pencils, and most of all his precious book with the story of his past drawn in. He bit his lip, running a hand over the cover. Why would they go to such lengths to get his things back for him? They really did expect him to be making a permanent residence there. Laying these things to the side he saw that the only thing missing was his short sword. Well, that was to be expected; the sword marked his training and connection to Root, to the Foundation, and to the Leaf Village. He also couldn't find his head guard anywhere.

Abandoning the desk, he walked over to the drawers and opened one. There was a neat change of underclothes like boxers, socks, plain pants in varying sahdes of grey and black, and form-fitting undershirts. He took a black shirt out. It would be a little big, but that was all right. He chose a simple change of clothes and then headed for a wash in the washroom. He came out clean and fresh in the new clothes, aching terribly but still feeling better than he had for a long time. He pulled on socks and black shoes, and then straightened, daring to stretch.

But something didn't feel right. He had to be planning his escape. There was no way he could cooperate with these people. And if worst came to worst... His fingers tightened around an imaginary knife. He would rather die than betray his village.

Sai looked in the last drawer. Neatly laid there were two Akatsuki cloaks. He took one out and shook it, unable to stop himself from admiring the durability and obvious skill with which the cloth had been woven. The red clouds stood out stark against the blackness of the cloak. He stared at it for a long while, mask replaced once more. His lips tilted downwards ever so slightly.

"Are you going to put it on, or not?" A voice asked. Startled, Sai whipped around. He had been so lost in thought that he had not heard the door open. That blonde man from earlier- Deidara- stood in the doorway watching him. "It won't come on by itself, mm." His lips twisted in a slight sneer. "Or perhaps you're still going through the doubtful phase, yeah. That can be easily fixed. Kisame just volunteered to head out for a supplies trip. Maybe he can destroy a few houses or two while he's at it,mm?"

"No- please don't, Deidara-san." Sai answered, and pulled on the cloak. It troubled him how light and pleasant it was, how comfortable he felt wearing it. It was the garment of the enemy, not something to be taken lightly.

Deidara's eyes fell on the arrangement of items on Sai's desk. "Looks like you do appreciate those things after all. Good. It was worth my time, then, mm."

"You brought these?" Sai asked.

Deidara nodded. "What's an artist without his art?" He asked simply, then turned away and motioned for Sai to follow. "Cmon. Pein's called a meeting, mm."

Sai followed him, but made no attempt to continue the conversation. Deidara led him to a huge cavern, the stone bluish grey. Pein was waiting for them near the entrance, nobody else.

"I see you've settled in." He said to Sai. "It fits well."

Sai grunted. "I'm here, as summoned."

"I've several things to discuss with you." Pein began, then stopped. "Look at me."

Unwillingly, Sai found his head raising to look into Pein's eyes. _'Curse that Raidan... I bet he's laughing at my inability to resist.'_

"What is it?" He asked simply.

"From the start, I must tell you that it's useless trying to resist. I know of the loyalty the Hidden Leaf shinobi have to their village, and how they would die to protect its secrets. We are no different." Pein said, his eyes narrowing. "But you cannot even release yourself from the bonds of life. The curse on you will sense any disobedience and activate, starting to control your movements again. Suicide attempts will result in failure; escape likewise."

"You've gone to quite a lot of trouble to aquire me." Sai stated. "Doesn't this take a large toll on Raidan-san's chakra? And constantly having to fight me must render him unable to take part in missions of his own."

"Not all all." Pein's voice was mild. "The man is quite spectacular, I must say. He can control several bodies in this manner at once." The last shreds of hope left Sai, then. Every exit had been accounted for by the Akatsuki; their trap was flawless. "Along with you, the curse- Jashin's poison as he likes to call it- is on a shinobi in the Hidden Sand, and another stationed in the Leaf."

Sai hid his shock well. "Who?"

"You cannot possibly betray us now, but I still should refrain from telling you who." The leader of the Akatsuki answered. He waved a hand, and Deidara stepped forward. He noticed that the blonde was eyeing him with slight dislike. "As you are well aware, we travel in pairs. The only exceptions to this rule are Zetsu and Raidan. Zetsu is two people in one, and Raidan just doesn't do teamwork. You are to be paired with Deidara. Aquaint yourselves." With that, Pein left.

The two stared at each other. Sai gave a little smile. "Hello, Deidara-san. My name is Sai."

"You're off to a funny start, mm." Deidara grumbled, avoiding his gaze. "We already know each others names. And you can drop the honorifics. We're partners."

"It always pays to learn more about each other, and I don't really know you that well, Deidara-san, you I think I'll keep using formalities." Sai replied pleasantly. The two began walking out of the huge, gloomy cavern. "I grew up in a group of orphans, and underwent vigorous training. At the end of that training, I was to fight with my brother to the death, but he died before then and I fought and killed a different boy. I was assigned and completed many undercover missions, including assassinations. Then I was assigned to be on the same team as Naruto, and we became good friends."

Deidara looked up at Sai. He had been smiling slightly the whole time, even when talking about his brother dying. "You're strange." He commented. "Is it really so happy for you to relate tragic events, yeah?"

"Not at all." Sai smiled. "Just because I'm smiling doesn't mean I'm happy."

"Mm." Deidara mumbled. "Long story short on my end. The world rejected me because of _these_-" He held up his hands, and the mouth on each of his palms opened, grinning at Sai and sliding red tongues against the white teeth. "...And because of my art. I can sympathize with you on the manner of joining, yeah. Me vs Itachi, he wins, I have to join up. I win, I go free, mm. With those damned eyes of his, though, I had no chance..." His voice trailed off and he appeared to be lost in memories. "Sharingan...pah! His genjutsu is a mockery of art. I will never accept it, mm." Then his voice became lighter. "But it was a wise decision when Pein-sama paired me with Sasori, yeah. Us artists have to stick together."

Sai looked at him curiously. He was gaining valuable insight into the minds of the Akatsuki, and found his opinions of them were being changed accordingly.

"You said... 'Us artists have to stick together'?" He asked.

"Yeah." His new partner answered. His eyes narrowed and the mouths on his hands began gnashing their teeth, agitated. "Sasori, my man... my art was fleeting, his 'eternal', but we were partners, mm. Until that _granny_ killed him..." Sai felt at a slight loss as he sensed the mood change. He had no idra how to answer to an enemy talking about a loss of one of his comrades. Up until then, he had thought the Akatsuki were as cold-hearted and psychotic among themselves as among their enemies. But obivously, he was wrong.

"De-" He made to speak, but Deidara cut him off.

"But see, this is why we are partners. Neither of us were understood. We both found it difficult to bond with our comrades. Misunderstood artists like us... though I disagree with your style, we share a special bond." Then his eyes narrowed and he pointed at Sai threateningly. "So don't go off and try to commit suicide, because then I'll have to spend forever looking for another worthy partner again, yeah!"

Sai jumped. "N-No, I.." He stuttered.

"Good." The blonde seemed satisfied. "Now clear off. I'm going to practice my art, and you don't want to be around for that, mm."

He nodded and continued on, lost in thought.

_'Bonds... could they really exist here?'_ As much as he disliked the thought of cooperating with his enemies, Sai determined to find out.

After quite a bit of wandering and poking about into various rooms, he settled down in what looked like a small library. He had expected it to be small, and found he was right.

_'After all...'_ He reasoned, _'The basicness of everything I have seen so far leads me to believe that this isn't their chief hideout. It is certainly one of the more preferred ones, yes, judging by its neatness and occasional decoration. But they are careful to not overdo anything in case of an emergency evacuation. This hideout, while valuable, is expendable at the same time.'_ Having made his conclusion, he searched through the meager offerings of books and scrolls on the shelves and to his surprise found some very informative things. He even found a Bingo Book for a few villages.

Finding one for the Hidden Leaf Village, he creaked it open and searched the pages. K...L...M... There it was, N. His eyebrows raised as he saw several scribbles written in a messy hand scrawled across the opposite page from 'Naruto Uzumaki', as well as some graffiti on Naruto's page itself.

Someone had drawn a beard with nine points on the blonde boy, extended his nails to ridiculous length and next to it written _The fucking brat in his nine-tailed form. _He sighed. This had to be that man Hidan's writing; who else? He randomly flipped a page, then closed the book, setting it back. Taking another one at random he dusted the thick cover off and opened the book, surprised at what good shape it was in. This one had to be fairly new.

The first page was a picture of an ANBU member in a wolf's mask. Sai's eyebrows raised.

_ANBU Wolf. Squad captain. Age: 29. Current status: Alive, serving under Hokage._

With a growing feeling of dread he flipped through the pages. More files. More names. Some unmasked. And X's... too many X's. Finally he stopped, and stared. His code name. His name. Him with his mask, him without. He read up on his information. How had the Akatsuki dug up so much information about him? They even...they even...

_Sai is known to have had a close attachment to his brother, Shin. While they were not related by blood, the brothers were very close. The latter died of an unknown disease before they were pitted against each other in the final fight to become a full-fledged member of the Foundation. His body rests in a small, scarcely marked grave in the civilian cementary of Konohagakure. It is unknown whether this affected his development as a Foundation ANBU or not. References needed._

He closed the book and slowly slid it back onto the dusty shelf, unsure of how he should feel about what he had just read. It was neither a good thing nor a bad thing that Shin had been mentioned. But now all he had a mind to do was go back to his room and sit for a while.

Sai found his way back easily enough, but a surprise was waiting for him in his room: A tall woman with blue hair, an origami flower perched near her bun. Her amber eyes stared at him as he quietly entered, and judged his apparent lack of surprise. She wore Akatsuki robes.

"My name is Konan." She said quietly, stretching a hand out. Sai shook it then let go, stepping back.

"Hello, I'm Sai." He replied.

"I've been curious as to our new member." She began. "I heard Kakuzu got to work on you?"

Sai suppressed as shiver at the memory. "Yes."

"May I see the wound?"

He nodded, trusting that she wasn't going to hurt a fellow group member. He shook off his cloak and lifted up his black undershirt. There was an area of red flesh around the grey stitches, slightly swollen, but not too bad. Konan bent down and examined it with a practiced eye. "That is only to be expected. You won't be sent out on anything higher than a B-rank for another day or two while your body adjusts to the addition of Raidan's chakra and strength to yours, as well as the constant though distant presence of his consciousness. The wound will take only those few days to heal, and in a week the scar should be gone." Her eyes had no concern in them, no emotion at all in her voice.

"Thank you." Sai lowered his shirt and pulled on the cloak again. "Konan-sama." He chose a title indicating a higher level of respect; the woman had an air about her that made him think that she wouldn't appreciate being talked to lightly.

She inclined her head. "You're an interesting child. Deidara must be elated that he isn't the youngest anymore." The woman passed him and opened the door, sending out some parting words. "There aren't any specific mealtimes, so come eat whenever you wish. You should be able to find your way around yourself."

"I will, thank you again." Sai repeated, and waited until she had left, her footsteps receding into silence, before sitting down at his desk and taking out his sketchbook. Time faded away and he relaxed, his pencil laying out the outlines for a peaceful lake scene. Slowly the landscape filled with colour. Light glimmered on the neatly shaded water, the soft dark sands on the shore looking as cool and inviting as the lake itself.

Finally he began to tire. The stress of all the recent events began to weigh down on him once more, and as he shook himself alert from a half-asleep state for the third time Sai finished off his drawing and ripped it out of the book. He took out a tack from a package in his backpack, and stuck the drawing to the wall. Then he took a step bakck, admiring it. His memory flashed back...

_Sakura was bending down next to him, staring at his abstract drawing. _

_"What are you going to call it?" She asked innocently. Sai paused in his work, thought for a second, then smiled._

_"Dunno." And continued shading._

_"What do you mean? You have to have a name for it." Sakura insisted. _

_"It wouldn't even occur to me." Sai answered. Sakura looked confused. _

_"What?"_

"I've drawn tens of thousands of pictures..." Sai said, exchanging his red crayon for a blue one and continuing his drawing. "But I've never titled any of them. The truth is, I couldn't title any of my drawings even if I wanted to..."

His past self swam before his eyes, almost taunting Sai as he stared at his picture.

_"I've never really felt anything. Anything at all..." _

He sighed. Starting to think up titles now was beyond him. He flopped onto the bed and promptly fell asleep.

lllllll

"So it's true then." Tsunade sagged in her seat. "They really do have him. The Akatsuki... anyone but them!"

"Lady Tsunade, I briefed the teams on the search radii. When should we begin?" Kakashi asked, but it was just a ruse to make her deliver the news first. She ran a hand over her face, then fixed him with a stern gaze.

"Kakashi, I order you to call the search off." She commanded. He bowed his head.

"I knew you'd say that..." He sighed. "To be honest, I realized the hopelessness of the situation from the start. I knew that without any sort of trail, any signs, we wouldn't be able to find him. Travelling through uninhabited country as we were, I doubted there would be any witnesses."

"You fool!" Tsunade shouted, her face turning slightly red. "I see right through you! You couldn't let those brats down, so you make me take the blame for you and make me the one to order the search cancelled." When Kakashi didn't reply, her anger faded and she chose gentler words. They were long time friends; she could see how distraught the jonin was. Though his words were even and clear, his eye had a defeated look to it that she knew all too well. It was the same look in his eye that he had gotten when he spoke to her about losing Sasuke to Orochimaru. "You're blaming yourself, aren't you?" She asked quietly.

Kakashi remained silent, and turned away. "Excuse me, Lady Tsunade, but I have to pass the word." He took a step away.

Tsunade's brows beetled and anger rose in her again. She slammed her fist on the desk, causing it to creak alarmingly. "Oi! KAKASHI!" She shouted. "Don't you DARE turn your back to me!"

He froze, then slowly turned around. Satisfied that she had his attention, the Hokage continued. "It wasn't your fault." She said, slowly and deliberately. "I sent you on a mission knowing full well the Akatsuki could have been out there. Were _likely_ to be out there. I had thought... I had _hoped_ for you to encounter them. I know how your team and you have a knack for getting out of any situation, and a lot of dumb luck hanging about your sorry heads, too. I sent you out there hoping that you'd get some additional bonus info while you were at it. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine, and mine _alone_. Now get the hell out and stop blaming yourself, Hatake."

To her dismay the defeated, dull look in his eye remained. He just nodded and left without another word. She sank back into her chair, biting her lip in frusteration. A student gone, likely dead by now. Sai had been valuable, too. His skills were quite advanced, and he had begun to make friends. After a private conversation with Yamato and Kakashi about the Foundation-raised Sai, and an idle conversation with the boy himself, she had begun to take a liking to him as well. He was polite, if socially awkward. He still said some wrong things here and there, but that was because he didn't know any better. He was, in his odd emotionless way, someone that a person could talk to in times of grief or trouble and recieve some kind words in return.

_'And now he's most likely dead...'_ Tsunade thought. Fate was cruel. She stood up and looked out the window. Kakashi was jumping from a rooftop down into a courtyard, stopping by a group of people. She recognized Naruto's orange jumpsuit from even that distance, and she would know Sakura's cherry-blossom pink hair and Shino's long overcoat anywhere.

"What did she say? When can we go?" Naruto asked immediately. Kakashi took a deep breath.

"Naruto..."

"What's happened?"

"Why the face, sensei?"

"Did she have a lead?"

Naruto just gazed into his sensei's eyes, and Kakashi looked back at him. Understanding slowly dawned in Naruto's own blue eyes, and his fists clenched. Seeing the warning signs, Kakashi rushed to interject, but someone else beat him there.

Hinata's arms encircled Naruto and pulled him into a hug. He pushed aside his own anger to hug her back and try to stop his girlfriend from crying.

"Kakashi-sensei... you can't really mean it..." Sakura sounded disbelieving.

"I do. Lady Tsunade has ordered that we call off the search." The Copy-nin confirmed.

"Do you really think we're going to do that?" Naruto was back, fierce as ever, one arm around Hinata's shoulders, the girl still sniffling. "Just give up? Just like that? You told us so yourself, sensei- those who abandon their friends are worse than trash."

Kakashi's eyes widened slightly. _Obito..._ His own fists clenched, and unreasonable anger rose inside him that he tried to dampen but couldn't. His team was going the way his first one had. He had lost Sasuke, now Sai. The Akatsuki were after Naruto's life and it was only a matter of time before Sakura got caught in the crossfire.

Naruto made to continue his rant, but stopped when he saw the Kakashi's trembling fists, and he stuttered himself into silence. He had never seen his teacher like this before.

"No clues to go by, no trail to follow, no scent to track, no witnesses to interrogate, and if we get past all of that a dead body to be buried." The words held barely supressed fury. "Hear me, Naruto, Sakura? Don't _think_ I'm going to let you two go and investigate by yourselves. I'm not going to let... I'm not going to let my team go the way my old one did." With that he turned and left, turning his back on his friends for the second time that day.

Kiba was hugging Akamaru. The dog sensed everyone's distress and whimpered.

"It's okay, Akamaru." Kiba murmured into the soft, creamy long fur. "It's okay, it's okay..."

Kurenai made her excuses and went after Kakashi. She knew just where he was heading: The memorial stone. For a long time, he was the only one she could talk to about Asuma, and in return he shared with her some of his past, some of his troubles. She came to think of him like a brother, always looking out for her. Now it was her turn to look out for him. There was a limit to how much a person could take... She knew that Kakashi must be feeling as if his life was an endless string of failures; failures to protect the ones he cared about. Kurenai was there to remind him of his many victories.

lllllll

Sai walked into the dining hall/kitchen at the same time that three other Akatsuki had chosen to eat. They were currently sitting at a long, rectangular table, exchanging news and the salt shaker. They glanced up, acknowledging his presence, then returned to their conversation. He eyed them. It was that shark-man, Kisame, his partner Itachi, and Raidan. Raidan shot Sai a creepy grin, which Sai tried his best to ignore. The feeling of those cold hands stroking his neck came back, and he shivered. Going through a cupboard he made himself a small sandwhich and poured a cup of clear groundwater before heading over to the table. There was a total of eight chairs, each embossed with some sort of symbol, though one was blank. Unsure of where to sit, he dithered for a moment, and Itachi looked up at him.

"You sit right there." He motioned to the unadorned chair, which was next to a chair with the kanji 'ao'. "Zetsu never eats here, and Konan just came to take a look at you. You'll be going through the ring ceremony a week from tonight."

Sai sat down without another word, slightly disturbed by Itachi's resemblance to his brother Sasuke.

"As I was saying, Kisame..." Itachi continued. "Why did you try to avoid that battle with those Land of Earth shinobi yesterday?."

"Perhaps not, Itachi." Kisame agreed, and the shark-like man's eyes seemed to glint with laughter. "But I do say, that girl was _quite_ taken with you." His rough voice became teasing. "It would have been a shame to kill her. I was aiming to set you two up on a date instead."

Sai ate quietly, nothing the lack of bothersome honorifics and niceties. The others must have been really comfortable with each other to avoid them like that, and tease each other so... was it possible that they actually were _friends_ with one another? His books said that only friends would be so free with their speech at the table.

Itachi scowled, setting his glass down a little harder than normal. Raidan jumped on the juicy piece of information.

"What's this, Itachi? Don't tell me you regret killing her. If you really didn't want to kill her, then why not just turn her over to _me_ instead? We'd hit it off so well."

"I don't have any regrets about my choice to eliminate those shinobi. They were a threat and would have reported us if allowed to get away. It was a simple killing, Raidan." Itachi's tone was slightly condescending. "I'm not sure you understand the need to kill, Raidan, but it is a shame that our youngest member knows it full well and you are still lingering on the basics."

"Is that so?" Raidan turned his dark eyes to Sai. "Well, now, enlighten me on some of your adventures, _Sai_."

Sai took his time chewing and held up a finger, unwilling to answer the question for as long as possible. Kisame snorted, barely holding back laughter.

"Who knew, the brat has a comic side to him! We might get along, after all." The monster of the Hidden Mist village conceded. "Which, I suppose, isn't much of a surprise after all. We do share the same concept in our past."

Sai swallowed and took a sip of water. "Which is?"

"Well, now... how to put it? We both were little sharks once, Sai."

Itachi rolled his eyes. "Here he goes."

Kisame shot his partner a glare before continuing. His plate of shrimp still lay untouched. "As I was saying, we both were like sharks. When sharks are so newly created in the world, they are pitted against their siblings, eating each other while still developing. They are forced by a higher power than themselves- in his case mother Nature- to kill their siblings before being turned out into the real world." He saw Sai grit his teeth. "Ah, you do know, don't you? It's quite true, isn't it?"

Sai took another drink from his glass. "That it is, Kisame-san. But I wonder if those sharks could ever rise up against that higher power and work together, as true brothers, to overthrow it?"

Kisame shrugged. "That's basically the Akatsuki in a nutshell." He said. "We're brothers, aren't we, Itachi, Raidan?"

Itachi nodded, hardly looking up from his small serving of salad. Raidan just grinned again.

"Aye."

And next week..." Kisame said dramatically, pointing at Sai with a flourish. "You'll be formally accepted into our family!"

Sai couldn't believe it. In these few days he was lost for words more times than he had ever been for the past few years. After a moment he recovered, however, and nodded.

_'Family... but I already have a family!'_ The faces of his teammates swam before him. He saw Shin's face. He saw the faces of villagers who had become a common and welcome sight in his daily life. They were his family.

His face didn't betray his misgivings, though. All he could do was pray that somehow he'd find a way to untangle the mess he was caught in. Finishing his food he washed his dishes with some water and a soapy mixture, dried them, stacked them, then bade the still-conversing trio farewell.


	4. Bonds of Brotherhood: Part Three

So I tried to put some more action in this chapter, as the next one's going to be a little short.

**Bonds of Brotherhood: Part Three:**

**Among Brothers**

llllll

Pein switched his unnerving gaze from face to face.

"You three both have the same objective, but slightly differing in scenery." He told his audience: Raidan, Deidara, and Sai. "Travel along Naiji road until you come to a choice between the left and right paths. Raidan, you head down the left, you two, down the right. Locate members of a small travelling group known as the Han. Be wary- their group consists of six A-rank shinobi with respective ablities. Their sole objective is to hunt us down. They're fairly new, and there is little risk of them actually succeeding in their goal. But they are still a nuisance. Eliminate them. "

"Got-" Deidara began, but Sai interrupted.

"Why?"

Pein's eyes narrowed. "You aren't supposed to ask why. There is the mission; that is all."

Raidan raised a hand. "If I may reprimand him..." Sai winced, placing a hand on the side of his neck, feeling like a blade was starting to cut into the skin.

"No." Pein cut him off. "You are forbidden to do so unless he attempts to escape or take his own life, or resist in any such extreme manner. Our objective is not to hurt him unduly; you must accept the fact that he is valuable to us."

Raidan's hand lowered, and the pressure eased. He sounded dissapointed. "Well, it's your decision. Personally... well, you know what I told you, Pein."

Deidara frowned at this, but said nothing about it. Instead he said, "Where are the others, Pein?"

"Out on their respective hobbies and missions." The orange-haired Akatsuki leader replied. "You might run into them, you might not. Now, you have already prepared, haven't you? Go."

"I still don't see why _I _have to go, too..." Raidan grumbled to himself once they were out of the hideout and moving silently through the woods. Sai was too busy checking out his surroundings to reply. "Oi. Sai."

"Hmm?" Sai sounded distracted.

Raidan raised an eyebrow. "You're not thinking of escape, are you?"

"Not at all." Sai turned and gave him his trademark transparent smile. "I was simply checking our surroundings for danger of any sort."

"Well, you won't find any here." The man seemed satisfied with his reply. "These woods border no road and offer no scenery of any sort; they lead to nowhere and are in nowhere. There's a river, true, but even that is a good way off. The largest living animals here are centipedes." Raidan's eyes became dreamy. "I killed off everything else to make sure we wouldn't be disturbed."

"And sacrificed it to Jashin?" Sai asked.

"My brother took on most, but I performed a few rituals." Raidan allowed, sounding modest. Deidara made a 'tcha!' noise, which Raidan chose to ignore.

"I didn't know your god accepted animal sacrifices." Sai said. His eyes flickered to the side. His partner was staring into space as he walked, hands in his pockets.

"As long as they're powerful enough. I only sacrificed things like bears and pumas to keep in Jashin's favour." Raidan shrugged. "I don't do the ritual often... on account it leaves me in bad shape afterwards, unlike Hidan, but I can recieve several so-called fatal attacks and get through them well enough."

"Hmm. That's pretty interesting. I'll remember that." Sai murmured. "But you can be killed, yes?"

"Don't go getting any ideas..." Raidan wagged a finger at him. "Not by you, for sure."

"Oh, I agree. I could never take you on by myself." The transparent smile was back. The woods they were walking in abruptly ended, and the two emerged onto a dirt path surrounded by a prarie of pale grasses. The sunlight was stronger here, and Sai blinked, his eyes adjusting to the light. Their feet made little clouds of dust fluff up every time they took a step. It was early June, in the further north, a mild summer's day. Their black and red cloaks made a sharp contrast against the waving greenery of the prarie. "You know, Raidan-san, there's something I've been meaning to ask you about." Sai finally re-started the conversation after half an hour's walk in silence.

"Ask away." Raidan replied shortly. Apparently the sun had been wearing down on his mood.

Undeterred, Sai continued. "My broken arm healed within a few days, and my side wound is almost completely healed now. Normally, it would take much longer. Why? Is it your doing?"

"Pretty much. Right now, my body is providing a continues stream of chakra and energy to yours. You are temporarily borrowing some of my body's self-healing powers and stamina. If you sustain an injury, instead of taking from the reserve the initial application of the curse provided then some of my strength is transferred to you in order to heal it. This is one reason why I don't get out on missions that often. Those that I am controlling each suffer occasional injuries and sicknesses in their own rights, and thus... Despite the great store that I possess, everyone has their limits, so I try not to waste energy in little day-job fights. Those around my unwilling spies, witnessing how fast they recover, simply call them gifted. The fools have no idea of me behind the scenes."

"You remind me of Sasori-danna." Deidara spoke up. "But you're a long-distance puppetmaster, controlling people's minds, mm."

"Thank you." Raidan grinned, pointed teeth bared. "That's quite the compliment, considering how highly you regarded the Red Scorpion. By the way, Deidara- I don't think he ever admitted it, but he really regarded you with respect, too."

"Me?" Deidara seemed surprised. "He was often annoyed at me, yeah. But he never even complimented my art. Sasori always insisted that art was something 'eternal', lasting through the dusty years. I really doubt he could ever respect my art, mm."

Raidan sighed. "I said he respected _you_. Maybe he didn't appreciate your sweet explosions, but he appreciated your company at times. I didn't know him that well at all, but I'm sorry for your loss. He must have been a good partner."

"Yeah, fairly." Deidara answered in a level tone of voice. Sai glanced at him, but didn't meet his gaze.

_'Why was he so open with me, a newcomer, when he doesn't seem to like talking about his former parter to a longer-time member of Akatsuki?'_ Sai wondered, then abruptly he remembered that Raidan could have been reading his thoughts, right then. He looked quickly at the man then back to the road ahead. Those black eyes were thoughtful, but not focused on him. Another hour passed walking. Sai kept his hands in his long hidden pockets, where his battle scroll and inks were kept now. They were much easier to reach than his previous choice in his backpack, though at times his arms still itched to perform that familiar movement up and backwards, drawing out his choice of weapon with a speed born of ages of practice and constant use.

Finally a worn-down signpost finally came into view. The white paint was peeling, revealing splintery wood. One arrow labeled 'Zamika' pointed left while another arrow labeled 'Eshin' pointed right. The E in 'Eshin' was faded and indistinct.

"Well, this is where we split." Raidan said cheerfully. He turned to Sai. "See ya-" he broke off. "Hey, what are you staring at?"

Deidara tensed. That glint in Raidan's eyes... he recognized the warning signs of a mood swing. What was the man planning?

Sai's gaze was fixed on the right-hand arrow. Eshin... Shin...

"Oh, right." Raidan sounded distasteful. "That dead brat of a brother of yours." He paused, seeing Sai's eyes narrow, and smiled inwardly. "You were hopeful there, huh, thinking he was actually important enough to have a village named after him? Don't be ridiculous. No one cares that he's dead."

"Be quiet." Sai muttered, turning away. Now it was Raidan's eyes that narrowed. And on him, it looked a hell of a lot creepier.

"Don't turn your back on me!" He snapped. Sai froze, his body trembling. "Now turn around and say it: Shin's worthless!"

"Don't insult- Shin!" Sai's voice was the closest it had ever come to a real snarl. The words were forced, the difficulty of struggling against the curse evident.

"You piece of shit-" Raidan broke off the sentence and raised a hand. Agony ripped through Sai, and he dropped to his knees, teeth clenched, trying to stop himself from screaming. He wouldn't let this bastard have that satisfaction, ever again. He curled up in pain, his limbs stiffening even as he did so to try and stop him.

Deidara watched his partner writhing on the ground, biting his lip. Finally he couldn't take it anymore.

"That's enough!" He shouted angrily.

Raidan looked up at him. "Hm? No, I don't think he's learned his _lesson_ yet."

"I said that's enough. Stop." Deidara growled, and when Raidan didn't immediately respond, he repeated it. "Stop!"

"Make me." Raidan taunted him, now, too. "You and your ugly little clay figurines." However, his concentration on his jutsu lessened slightly, and Sai let out a groan. Seeing his partner in that state was the final straw. Deidara's hand plunged plunged into the folds of his cloak, grasping something in the little side bag he always carried that was full of his special clay. This one was already molded; he tossed it at the other man with a flick of his wrist.

Raidan easily dodged; but what he had not counted on was this figure being a perfectly done little bird. The little bird changed course in mid-air and swerved around. Just as it collided with Raidan's face Deidara drew his hands together.

"_Katsu!_" He shouted, and the resulting explosion blew Raidan five feet away down the left fork.

Smoke billowed everywhere, but the man emerged from it with a burn on his cheek that was slowly healing even as Deidara watched.

"Little fucker..." Raidan muttered angrily, but the look on Deidara's face brooked no argument. Turning around in a huff the man hurried away down the left road. After a moment to make sure he was gone Deidara knelt down by Sai, and offered him a hand. The boy took it, shaking his head to clear it of the dizziness as his partner pulled him to his feet.

"You all right, Sai, my man?" The blonde asked.

"Yeah..." Sai shook his head, clearing away the dizziness. He hesitated. "Thanks for sticking up for me, Deidara-san."

"Any one of us would have, mm." Deidara replied. "Raidan just seems to have forgotten that."

Sai was silent for a moment. "I haven't seen much of you all yet..." He began, choosing his words carefully. "But would you say you Akatsuki are... close, with one another?"

Deidara snorted. "You crack good jokes, Sai. I know you're thinking of your own precious village, with the tight team groups and rankings, mm. Our relationship with one another is slightly different, however. We, for one thing, don't have such nonsense as genin, chunin, and jonin. We are all equals as part of the Akatsuki, except for our leader." His eyes took on a superior glint. "By remaining so mysterious we remain cool. But I can tell you aren't intimidated. That's good. I wasn't, either, despite being the youngest when I 'joined'. Don't mention this in front of Pein- he hates admitting it- but with each other, we can relax a little bit, mm."

"I see." Was all Sai said. Deidara frowned at him.

"We Akatsuki are supposed to be cool and quiet, perhaps. But you're a bit too quiet."

Sai shrugged. "What am I supposed to be?"

"Whatever you like, mm." Deidara was suddenly indifferent. "I'm just bored, that's all."

"I see." Sai debated for a second, then put on his fake smile. "Would you like to play two-way numbers? I often played it with my teammates to ease their boredom."

"What is it?" His companion sounded faintly interested. "Is it some sort of test of wills? Battle of wits? Display of skills?"

The smile never wavered. "It's a hand game."

"No!" Deidara instantly answered.

"All right. It was worth a try." Some of the falseness left Sai's smile and he turned his attention back to the road before them.

lllll

The second morning dawned clear and bright. Dewdrops glimmered on the grass, transforming each pale and dry blade into a thing of sparkling beauty. Little grasshoppers were occasionally seen hopping across the ground, but more often their progress was marked by a trembling series of stems. Sai was awake long before his partner was, sitting and transferring the scene onto paper. The sun rose a little bit higher into the sky, flooding the area with light.

_'Nothing like a prairie sunrise...'_Sai thought, feeling oddly at peace with the world despite his situation. For some reason, he felt relaxed and at ease as he drew before such beauty. The immense expanse before him was far from silent, too. Little birds chirping and crickets in the grass rubbing out their soothing tunes helped ward off the plethora of problems that would have plagued his mind otherwise.

"Mmm... not too shabby, that." Deidara nodded to his drawing before he yawned hugely and stretched. Making use of his new strength, Sai had drawn a large tent for them to spend the night in relative comfort. Having served its purpose, Sai simply had to cut off his connection with the ink it was comprised of and let it dissapate. However, before the ink absorbed into the ground, it rose into the air and flew in a swift stream back into the little inkwell that Sai always carried.

"I suppose." Sai answered, absorbed in his work. "Don't ask me to title it, though."

"I would never." Deidara sounded indignant. "I never title my own works of art, yeah. I can't tell you to, then!"

"Really?" Sai was surprised. "Why?"

"Art is fleeting, ephemeral. It blossoms for a short time in its truest form before fading. There's no point titling something that is so transient." Deidara explained. "What, don't tell me you're a Sasori and say that art is eternal instead of ephemeral."

"I actually don't know." Sai took out a pale green coloured pencil and delicately applied it to the topsides of the grass stalks. The pencil glided across the pad of paper like a breath of fresh wind, giving life to the black-and white outlines. "I suppose... I agree with both you and Sasori. The true beauty of art is as transient as you say it is, for that beauty blossoms only when the art is being created. But beautiful art can exist eternally, as well, capturing the attentions of all who gaze upon it."

"That's true." Deidara sounded slightly awed. "You know, I never thought of that before, mm. But I still hold fast: Art is an explosion!"

"That can mean many things." Sai smiled, and closed his book, exchanging it for his ink scroll. "There will be more travellers now that we are getting close to the nearest village. I suggest we take to the air."

"Wise." Deidara shrugged. He reached into his side bag and took out a small lump of clay, feeding it to his right palm's mouth. As it chewed and prepared the clay, he watched Sai's own preperations.

A few swift brushstrokes, a little flick here and there- before he knew it, Deidara was staring at a realistic dove. Sai put two fingers together with the rest bent.

"Super beast scroll jutsu!" He commanded. The dove flapped its wings, bursting free of the paper and growing to a size large enough for a rider on its feathery back.

Not to be outdone, Deidara took the now-ready for use clay and molded it. Sai watched curiously. Pottery and other 3D arts were difficult with two hands, and here was his partner doing it with just one. The fist moved slightly, kneading the clay, then opened.

Sai raised an eyebrow. There, on the opened hand, was a detailed, perfectly formed little white bird. Its empty eyes were slightly creepy, but other than that it was amazing.

"That's quite good." He said while stroking the neck feathers of his own aerial ride.

Deidara nodded, then flung the bird into the air. There was a cloud of white smoke, then when it cleared he was standing on the now much larger creation with expert balance.

"Are you coming, Sai, my man?" He asked. Sai didn't answer right away, and confusion flitted across Deidara's face. The black-haired kids expression was unreadable as he stared into space. "Hey, Sai!"

Sai made up his mind and mounted his bird, taking off into the air. "Coming... Deidara." The powerful, inked wings of his bird flapped once, twice, and he soared into the air. Deidara just stood for a moment, then he grinned, feeling slightly relieved. He nudged his own bird with a foot and it took off after Sai's.

_'It looks like the kid's finally settling in.'_

lllll

Deidara had elected to go into the village and snoop around; it was small, after all, and word of the Akatsuki hadn't spread to such little settlements. Sai waited for him to come back, hopefully with news of the Han, but in the meantime he elected to make himself useful.

"Let's see..." He muttered, rummaging through his backpack. He took out a package of rice and placed it on the ground. Then he took out his scroll and sketched a simple cooking apparatus, consisting of a pot on a tripod. With a muttered command it burst out of the paper and set itself up. Sai tore open the package of rice and emptied its contents into the black and white pot. He paused. Water... water was needed to boil things. Sighing he began to sketch a bird to fly to the nearest water source and collect a potful, then his hand froze right as it touched the paper

Somebody was watching him. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled, and casually he began drawing again, taking care to keep the scroll and its picture hidden from any watchers. His ears, now sharper than ever, caught the number of people: Six, surrounding him. He gave a short sigh, and laid down the brush. In that moment there was little whirring sound, and an explosion. Smoke billowed from the campsite.

Six figures jumped down from the trees, dressed in brown and green for camoflauge. Their headbands marked them as shinobi from Iwagakure. The smoke curled up and vanished into nothingness... revealing Sai standing and smiling.

"Tch!" A black haired man harrumphed. "So you're still standing, eh? Impressive, considering that was one of my stronger exploding seal papers."

Sai smiled at him. "Really? I would have never have guessed that."

"This'll convince you otherwise!" The black-haired man whipped out three kunai and tossed them at Sai, who easily evaded them, even when one after the other they exploded. He somehow managed to avoid all dangerous debris and shards of metal flying everywhere.

Sai remembered his first encounter with Naruto, and selected his favourite insult. "Really, the way you fight, I wonder if you have any balls at all."

The man's eyes widened and his face coloured with embarassment and indignation. "Why, you- I'm going to wiped that damned smile right off your face!"

"Calm down, Niya-san." Another shinobi snapped.

"But Iwagi-sama"

"Cut it!" He had an air of authority about him- Sai took him to be the leader. The man frowned at him. "You're not on our list, yet you bear the cloak of the Akatsuki. Who are you?"

Sai's smile vanished, his face and eyes unreadable. "I suppose you could call me their newest member."

"Hrm.." Iwagi appraised him. "You're alone, aren't you?"

"My partner is currently away, yes." Sai allowed. "But I'm never _really_ alone. Now, do we really have to fight this out? I was about to make some dinner, and I'm pretty hungry." The smile was back, while Iwagi's own frown deepened. Suddenly Sai's hands clapped together, and moved impossibly fast in a series of hand signs.

"Get back!" Iwagi cried. The Han jumped backwards.

The last sign was formed and Sai cried out: "Thousand smile jutsu!"

On edge, the group waited, weapons at the ready. Sai's smile never faltered. It took on a dangerous edge. "Well, you've made your choice."

Nothing happened.

"That's it? _That_ was your jutsu?" Niya sounded disbelieving. "Man, this guy's a joke!"

"Maybe so." Sai said sincerely. He bowed his head. "I'm supposed to kill you, but I don't want to. Please, run away before my partner gets back."

"Run away...? Hah!" A man to his right scoffed, and readied a set of shuriken. "You wish!"

"I _do _wish." Sai's voice became slightly urgent. He could feel Raidan's presence in the back of his mind, getting clearer and clearer... he wasn't sure what that meant, but it probably wasn't a good thing, knowing the man. "You have to-" He broke off in the middle of his sentence with a gasp. Black lines snaked across his skin, forming symbols and lines, reaching up his neck, up to his chin before stopping. Pain shot through him as he tried to resist his legs moving forward, but swiftly found his control over his own body was deteriorating.

_'You damned little brat...'_ Raidan's voice rang clearly in his head. _'Let ME handle this, if you're too weak!'_

"What's happening?"

"What's wrong with him?" The Han around him murmured their shock.

"Prepare to attack!" Iwagi commanded. His hands moved in the first stages of a lightning-style jutsu.

"You have to... run..." Sai gasped out, dropping to his knees. "Run..."

_'Stop fighting! I can handle it myself! Now let me kill them!' _

"On three!" Iwagi's voice rang out. "One... Two..."

"Run!" Sai shouted desperately.

_'Stay!' _

"Three!"

Three men cooperated to hurl a fireball; One man gathered a stream of wind, and Niya caused pillars of earth to shoot from the ground, Iwagi's lightning crackling around them.

The resulting explosion tore through the ground and uprooted several trees. Fire flickered in the dry bushes, and soon a nearby tree went ablaze. Smoke billowed everywhere.

Iwagi stared through hard green eyes, searching for the Akatsuki idiot's body lying on the jumble of broken-up earth and stone, among the flickering flames... Then his eyes widened, and he gasped.

"No!"

From the smoke a dark figure rose to its feet, completely unhurt.

"I- I don't get it. How can you still be alive?" The leader of the Han stuttered. The boy... the boy seemed different, somehow.

Raidan smiled. "Maybe you missed." He said in a friendly tone, then his eyes opened. "Or maybe it's just me." His voice became deeper and more mature, but at the same time more breathy. Just at hearing it, staring at his unscathed figure after throwing their strongest combined attack... two of the group scrambled to their feet and turned to run away. Raidan's eyes flickered to them and he leaped into the air, dissapearing, then reappearing right in front of the runaway shinobi, startling them. They stopped and stiffened for a vital second. In that second, a katana swung through the air, completely decapitating them.

The remaining four stood in shock at seeing their comrades fall so quickly. Sai/Raidan stood with the katana held casually at his side, blood dripping onto the ground. Then he moved again, just as swiftly. Niya sensed danger and ducked- just in time. The katana swiped the air just above his head, then abruptly Raidan let go of it- just for a second- and readjusted his grip, plunging it down through Niya's back before withdrawing it.

"As you can see..." He said easily. "...I don't waste time. You're lucky that I'm fighting you, though. If the kid had actually enough balls to take you idiots on then you'd be getting your throats ripped out by inked tigers. I'm no artist. I prefer the music of your screams!"

Iwagi's eyes widened, and he took a step back in horror. Remembering his precarious position he recovered and tossed five shuriken. All of them were dodged. He had barely enough time to call up a shield of rock over his arms when Raidan ran forward with incredible speed. He had no time to draw his own sword. The stone encasing his arms shattered as Raidan's katana hit it, breaking Iwagi's arms as well.

"Iwagi-sama!" His follower cried. Iwagi's head whipped around and he glared at him.

"Run you bastar- gahh!" He coughed out blood as the katana pierced his throat.

Raidan drew his weapon out of the dead man's throat with a sickening _squelch_, and slowly walked torwards the last remaining man with a slightly insane grin on his face. Just for the last one... he had time.

"I'm sorry, Iwagi-sama..." The last man murmured sadly, then raised his head with a fierce look in his eyes. "But I have to disobey your orders and avenge you and my comrades deaths!"

"It's too late for that." The low, eerie voice whispered in his ear. The man's wide blue eyes stretched even wider as Raidan appeared right next to him. A katana swung around- and lopped off his hands. As the man screamed Raidan laughed, and kicked him down with stunning force. A crack split the air as his victim's ribs broke.

Raidan stood above the man, katana raised. Where was that fear in those blue eyes... how he loved that fear... but what was taking this man so long to show it? There was only a fierce anger burning in the sapphires.

_'Like Naruto!' _The through crossed his mind, and then a flood of memories that weren't his own overwhelmed him. Raidan snarled, trying to keep up his control... but he couldn't hold it much longer. The time limit surfaced and he retreated. The black marks on Sai's throat- presumably reaching down the rest of his body as well- faded away into the pale skin. He stared down at the man beneath him, fingers trembling slightly as he held the bloody katana. The man was suffering. There was nothing he could do for him. With his blank face restored, the katana swept down and buried itself in the blue-eyed man's heart, killing him instantly.

Deidara came back from his trip into the village to find Sai sitting on a small boulder, legs on the ground and hands in his lap, blackened underbrush circling the great bare spot.

He whistled. "What in hell happened here?"

Sai looked at him. "Oh, hello. Our mission is complete, that's all."

"Mm. Not quite." Deidara held up a file. "Says here that a man named Minako lives in a house further down the road, in a big empty stretch. Apparently he's the one responsible for training these nitwits. Good job with these, though."

Sai looked back down at his hands. "Thanks."

lll

They had spent the night and most of the following day barely talking to each other. Deidara attempted to start a light banter here and there, but gave up when Sai didn't cooperate. He only recieved infuriatingly direct responses, much like the old Sai had given back when he was new to Team Kakashi. Finally as they entered a stretch of pine wood, Deidara could contain himself no longer. He dropped his silent facade and allowed anger and frusteration to show through in his voice.

"What's with you, Sai, my man? You haven't been like this with me before. If there's any fucking one of us that you can talk to, it should be me, mm!"

"I really don't know what you are talking about." Sai replied evenly. "I'm completely fine."

"Idiot!" Deidara was really frusterated now. "Like hell you are! Don't tell me you're sad about killing those other idiots back yesterday."

"I'm not _sad_ about it." Sai didn't look at him. "It's been on my mind, though, I do admit that. I find it hard to be sad about anything, really. Emotions are relatively new to me. I've only felt sad once in the past several months, and felt truly afraid just once in the past year, and here you are asking me if I feel sad over such a thing as death. No, Deidara, I'm perfectly fine."

Deidara blew out a long breath. "You're really good at lying. Cmon, just tell me... please." It took alot out of him using that single word.

Sai blinked. "You must remember I'm not doing this of my own free will." Deidara didn't immediately answer, and he continued. "My friends back home... they were like my family. My team leader Kakashi like a father, my friends Sakura and Naruto like sister and brother. Yet here I am, working against them. I am expected to become part of a criminal organization freely, even cheerfully. An organization that most of my life has been spent trying to take down. Back in Konoha, I was just starting to make friends. People who cared about me." His eyes narrowed. "Now they will think that I have betrayed them, while I am here with people who just want to use me. I've escaped being a tool for lord Danzo and begun to make a life for myself. Now I'm trapped once more, and nobody will give a thought to it."

His partner's fists clenched. "Is that it?" The anger was back in his voice. "Damnit, Sai, don't you realize it?" Deidara opened his hands wide, the mouths on his palms gnashing their teeth. "You fool- we care about you! I know that son-of-a-bitch Raidan could care less about you, mm. But the rest of us... Stop insulting us!" His voice rose to a shout. "You've been in our midst for a few days now. You've seen it yourself- we value each other, yes, but not just for power. If that was so, we'd all be dead by now, the Akatsuki organization a failure. Whenever one joins us, they become a brother. I had the same doubts... and found my first friend in Sasori."

Sai met his fierce gaze now. The black-lined blue eyes softened, ever so slightly. "I would be your first friend among us brothers, if you'd let me, mm."

Sai took a deep breath, and tried to control his conflicting thoughts. Deidara was staring at him, waiting for his answer. The orange light of the setting sun hit their faces, brightening them, giving colour to Sai's pale face. He offered Deidara a faint smile. "I'd like that."

"Good." His partner gave a short, satisfied nod and smile. The pines bordering the road blew in the evening winds, and Sai's ears pricked. Voices carried on that wind...

"Someone's coming down the road." He said to Deidara. "Get to the side."

They both leaped to opposite sides of the road, Deidara to the left, Sai going behind a tree on the right. The voices came closer and closer, and then two figures in long black cloaks with the familiar red clouds appeared. They also appeared to be arguing.

"Hey, hey!" Deidara called out, stepping onto the road. "Hidan! Kakuzu! What are you doing here, mm?"

"Heading to the village of Iwagakure." Kakuzu said through his mask.

"To go after some damn stupid _bounty_of Kakuzu's..." Hidan muttered, and crossed his arms. His three-bladed sycthe gleamed blood-red in the dying light. "To think we'd go to such lengths for money! Pah! Lord Jashin would never approve!"

"Be grateful." Kakuzu said to him. "At least I'm letting you do your ritual this time."

"Did I ever give a fuck about whether you'd let me do it or not, asshole?" Hidan's violet eyes were scornful, his tone as well.

"Nonstop arguments, that's your partnership..." Deidara sighed, exasperated.

"You've captured it perfectly, Deidara." Kakuzu said shortly, with a little bit of curiosity in his voice. "Where's _your_ partner?"

Sai bit his lip. The man with the threads... well, now was his chance to hopefully re-evaluate him from his previous and rather negative conclusion. He stepped out from the forest and smiled.

"Right here. I was unsure of whether you were enemies or not."

"Hm." Kakuzu grunted. "Is Deidara bothering you too much yet? His long talks about the 'fleeting, ephemeral beauty' of his art do get annoying."

Sai chuckled. The man had obviously heard Deidara's talks before, and knew them well. "Now that you mention it..."

"Hey!" The blonde glared at Kakuzu. "Don't say you're making fun of my art, yeah!" He raised a threatening hand.

"What's so great about your shitty art, anyways?" Hidan asked innocently. "It's just spit coming from those mouths on your hands."

"Oi, careful, Hidan." Kakuzu warned, seeing Deidara clench his teeth. "That would be the second time out of three."

"Why do I care?" Hidan was disdainful. The immortal chose his next teasing insult. "Your works of art are just cheap little things."

"That was the third time." Sai said quietly. A second later Deidara exploded- _almost_ literally. He had tossed a little spider at Hidan and shouted the detonation command. The resulting explosion blew a large hole in Hidan's stomach.

"Agh!" Hidan grunted, staggering backwards, blood splattering onto the ground. He clutched his stomach for a moment before straightening again, the flesh of his body knitting itself back together. "Seriously, 'Dara, that has got to be the fucking fourth time you've blown me up this fucking month."

Kakuzu's red and green eyes slanted, an amused light to them, as Deidara laughed. After a second Sai joined in with a little laugh of his own.

_'It feels strange, laughing...'_

"Well, see ya, my fiery lil' brother." Hidan waved at Deidara and turned to Sai. "You too."

"Later." Kakuzu said simply, leading the way. Hidan gave a last wave and ran after him.

"Hidan and Kakuzu..." Deidara said, shaking his head. "You learn to love them, mm."


	5. Bonds of Brotherhood: Part Four

**Bonds of Brotherhood: Part Four:**

**The Ceremony**

lllll

Sai slowly woke up. As his eyes opened, seeing nothing but darkness, he reached over and fumbled with a little knob, finally turning a lamp on the wall on. It's warm light diffused only a little of the darkness in his room, but it was enough. Sai got up, stretching, going through a morning routine of various stretches to increase muscle flexibility and performance. The light from the flame in the lamp flickered onto the collection of pictures now on the wall. His room had undergone a transformation: The pictures were framed, but still untitled. His desk was neatened, with a pile of blank paper on the left upper corner and a box of coloured pencils on the lower right. In the upper right corner of the desk was an empty picture frame. His Akatsuki cloak hung from a hook in one corner, and at the foot of his bed he placed his shoes.

He dressed in the same basic outfit as every other day: Dark pants, long sleeved shirt and the trademark cloak. He spent a few minutes in front of the mirror, hands on the sink, staring at his reflection, trying to reconcile his old self with the new one in front of him. Today was the big day. He felt at the most slightly nervous- Pein had told him to save his energy throughout the day for that night, when the ring ceremony would take place and he would be formally inducted.

Formally inducted into the Akatsuki. Fate was cruel. He sighed, running a hand over his face. Thanks in part to his earlier talk with Deidara, he had begun to appreciate and bond with the rest of the 'criminals'. If it was possible for him to feel disgusted with himself, he would have- at hearing himself admit that he had even begun to look upon his peers as brothers. Pein was the silent and moody oldest, Itachi younger and not as tight-lipped but still quiet. Kisame was the sarcastic/talkative one who always enjoyed a good fight; Hidan was the loud-mouthed and foul-mouthed butt of many jokes, with Kakuzu often putting in his own two cents, though in a more reasonable tone. Zetsu was hardly ever present, but Sai heard that his white side and black side were independant, and both trustworthy. Raidan... Sai frowned to himself as he bound the straps of his sandals around his ankles. Raidan seemed to get along well enough with everyone else, and he was fairly civil to Sai around other Akatsuki. However, when they were alone, Raidan used the time to taunt him about the friends Sai had left behind in Konoha and how weak they were.

But if Sai was ever brooding over such things, he just had to go talk with Deidara about something- anything. Be it art, past wars, the remaining Jincuuriki, various missions they had gone on, what Kisame had said to Zetsu while out on an assignment the other day... Somehow Sai couldn't help but feel a little better after a talk with his partner. Deidara's temper wasn't too hard to inflame and he was a bit full of himself, but the kindness he had shown Sai when he was feeling lost and isolated had worked marvels. Shaking his head to clear away troublesome thoughts Sai pulled his cloak together and exited the room.

llllll

Naruto handed in his free ramen ticket to the man at the counter.

"Something the matter, Naruto?" Teuchi asked. Naruto's shoulders were drooping, his hair messier than usual, his eyes missing their usual bright light. "You look like you've been to your own funeral."

"I might as well have been to a funeral." Naruto muttered, picking at the pork, eggs and noodles ramen. "One of my best friend's."

"What happened?" Ayame asked. The ramen shop owner's perky brown-haired daughter came up, toweling off a plate.

"We lost a member of our team to the Akatsuki while on a mission..." Naruto murmured, and stood up. "Sorry." He apologized, pushing the ramen away from him. "I don't really feel like eating right now."

"It's all right." Teuchi looked at him with concern. "You have every one of my sympathies." 

"Me, too." Ayame said softly.

"Thanks, guys." He replied, and left. The day was warm and bright. It shouldn't have been. He briefly considered heading over to the training grounds, like he usually did when not on missions, but today he just didn't feel like it. The days right after they were ordered to give up their search he had immersed himself in training, telling himself that he had to get stronger, he had to save Sasuke, and Sai now, too. But as the days passed with no news of any kind of him, his hope waned. Several people had noticed the pale-skinned boy's abscence, people who he had begun to make friends with, even, and talk to. They walked up to Naruto and voiced their questions as to his whereabouts- and each time he told them the truth, it drove hope further away. Some of his childish stubbornness had faded away, allowing him to grasp the nigh impossibility of searching the entire world for a friend he had lost.

_Friend. _

His feet acted on impulse, with a mind of their own. They led him down a turn of streets, into a quieter, resedencial area and then into a small building, heading upstairs. He had been to his plac eonly once. Sai's room. He lived in a building for shinobi that didn't want to get their own house, on account of them not being home very often and didn't need much room. Most higher-ranking shinobi had such living arrangements, and Naruto knew it suited them very well. He checked the doorknob. It was unlocked. Letting himself into the room he stared around.

Drawings hung in frames on the wall, except by one corner where a pale blue/grey bathrobe was hung. They were all spectacular; he could not help but walk slowly around and admire each one. Naruto wasn't a great appreciator of the arts, but by looking at the pictures he felt slightly better. He didn't feel the least guilty about sitting down at Sai's desk, opening empty drawers, and then rifling through a stack of thick blank paper on the upper left corner. He looked through the dazzling array of colours and shades in a pencil box on the lower right, then a square shape caught his eye, and he picked up a picture frame.

Inside was a perfect drawing of their team. All of them were smiling, even Sai. The smile looked right, the way he drew it. All of them looked right, standing there and smiling. Naruto blinked, and looked closer, then let out a little gasp of shock. Sai had drawn the picture to resemble Naruto's original photo- the one with him glaring at Sasuke, Sakura smiling at the camera and Kakashi's arms on their heads. Except now all the bitterness was removed from the scene, and Sai had taken Sasuke's spot. The smiles his team wore seemed almost wishful.

_'It seems that place is cursed... Sasuke, then Sasuke's replacement...'_ Naruto thought bitterly. He placed the picture back down a little harder than he meant to, and the delicate glass over the drawing shattered, some shards piercing his hand. He stared at it in disbelief, a queasy feeling growing in his stomach. Something just wasn't right. It didn't feel like Sai was dead and gone. He could not shake off the bad feeling, however. But he knew his friend was alive. But what hell could he be possibly going through? What manners of torture were the Akatsuki putting him through? His fists clenched at the thought.

lllllllll

Sai looked at the proffered array of little bottles in confusion. "What is this?"

"Nail polish." Deidara said unhesitantly. Sai's eyes widened, and Kisame laughed.

"The look on your face, kid!" He held up his own hands. His nails were painted with a navy blue colour. "I tell you, it doesn't look too bad at all."

"What about you, Deidara?" Sai stalled. He looked at Deidara's hands. The nails were painted black. "I would have thought you would have gone for more... well, colours reminiscent to your explosive art, maybe a sort of orangey-yellow."

Deidara shrugged. "Black goes with everything." He said pointedly. "But now you must choose your own colour."

Sai gave a short sigh. "Fine." He said flatly.

Kisame and Deidara watched with interest as Sai painted his nails a dark plum colour. He handled the brush expertly, making even brushstrokes on his nails that gave a universally smooth surface. Not a drop of the liquid was spilled, nor the least little bit of it smudged. The shark-man sitting and watching intently gave a low whistle of appreciation.

"You can do my nails anytime, Sai." Kisame said. "Do you know how hard handling that damned little brush is for me?"

"You're starting to sound like Hidan..." Deidara complained. "Damn this, fuck that, go to hell you little bitch of a nail polish!"

Sai smiled, but still remained intent and focused on his work until the last pinky had dried. He capped the bottle and returned it to the little box.

"Well, Hidan does go a bit overboard, yeah." Kisame admitted.

"Hey! I can fucking _hear_ you, you know!" Hidan yelled from over by the kitchen cabinet.

"Hidan, aren't you and Kakuzu going on another mission soon?" Sai asked his voice was deceptively casual.

"That's right." The former Takigakure shinobi answered, walking into the room. His red and green eyes looked bored. "Hidan's not going to like it."

"What, what is it?" Sai asked.

"We're heading to collect some bounties of mine." Kakuzu told him. "I can't seem to convince Hidan that money is one of the necessities of the Akatsuki."

"Maybe so, but tht damned money you always go on about every damn day pales in comparison to the might of Jashin!" Hidan proclaimed.

"Bounties..." Sai looked at his newly painted nails for a second. "Who's your bounty, Kakuzu?"

"A monk named Chiriku, from the Fire Temple." He said shortly. "Hidan, you just ate."

"I'm hungry again, asshole." Hidan shot back at him. The loudness of their ensuing argument effectively drowned out Sai's little sigh of relief. He knew he wouldn't be able to just sit there and take it if someone from his own village had been targeted, and killed by the 'immortal combo' Hidan and Kakuzu. Then he glanced sideways, saw Deidara looked at him narrowly, and knew that he hadn't fooled him. But his comrade didn't comment on it, for which he was thankful. After a second of staring at him then Deidara pushed his own untouched plate of noodles torwards him.

"Here." He said to Sai. "I'm not hungry, and you need to build your own strength up for tonight." Sai accepted the plate and began to eat, his fingers dainty with their handling of the chopsticks. "Raidan is saving his energy too, as it's linked to yours." Deidara added. "As time goes by he's putting a store of his chakra into your source, so you won't need to depend on his as much, but you still need to be self-dependent now as well, mm."

"I see." Sai replied quietly.

"A little nervous, kid?" Kisame asked, finishing his sushi. "So was I when I was inducted. Really, it's not that bad as you might think it is." He paused, and grinned slightly. "Well, now, everyone's reaction is different. The rings we wear aren't just for _anybody_."

"What do you mean?" Sai asked, looking up from his noodles.

"Well, you see, each of our rings means a different thing." Deidara held up his own. "Mine reads as 'blue.' As there are many people with blue eyes or hair or other blue features, they chose the best fitting one out of them to join: Me."

"I get it..." Sai murmured, staring at the ring. "So in a way, the rings choose their bearer. Their physical attributes have to be matched to the symbol on the ring."

"Not just physical." Kisame put in. "It can range from anything- physical to their family line to their place of birth. Mine reads 'south', and I was born in the southern part of the Land of Water. But the thing is, you're a special case. As no new rings can be created now, any replacements who take on the left over ring have to fit to those pre-inscribed attributes." He closed his eyes and smiled in a superior way. "At first, we were puzzled as to replace someone whose ring read 'jewel'. But I came up with the second translation for the symbol of the ring your going to recieve. It read-"

Deidara shot Kisame a warning look. "I'll continue, mm. Sai, your symbol is _gyoku_- also known as the king of the chessboard, the black king. And as it turned out..."

"It took a hell of a lot of snooping around and killing a few people for the info." Hidan put in, sitting heavily down in his chair. "But just our luck, we find a konoha-raised orphan with the bloodline of kings."

There was complete silence for a moment. Sai's eyes stretched wide. He was still mostly physically incapable of showing emotion, but his eyes showed what his face could not.

"M- me?..." He stammered. "But..."

"Apparently your talent in information-gathering is inherited." Kisame said cheerfully.

"Your grandfather was the daimyo of the Land of Keys, from the long-time ruling Ayatsuru clan. Your parents were killed while travelling incognito to Konohagakure as spies." Kakuzu stated. "The shinobi in the Land of the Keys are known for their talents in espionage. It took a few of them before we were able to capture one alive; the rest committed suicide before being taken. The information we gleaned was that while your mother was expecting you, her pregnancy was taken advantage of and she was sent with your father as undercover spies to Konohagakure. Nobody would suspect two poor refugees expecting a family to be spies, so they were willingly taken in, but two weeks later your mother Jona died in childbirth, and your father committed suicide shortly after, but reasons are unknown."

"Hell, everyone didn't give a shit whether the lady's baby was alive or dead. All they cared was that their spies had managed to send out some information before they died. Their brat, even if he survived, wouldn't remember anything. You weren't worth a rescue mission." Hidan's voice seemed to come from far away. The voices around him became a jumble. Sai stared at his food, completely blank.

His parents...

"I heard that their leftover child was even happy at the news. Now Kewashi Ayatsuru was in line for the position of daimyo." Kisame kept talking. "I doubt he'll be happy if he ever finds out his younger brother is alive...

_'Younger brother? No. Shin is my older brother, and now... I...' _

"No." He finally said quietly. "We might be physically related, but I refuse to claim any relation to Kewashi. Shin is my true older brother, and... I have several new brothers, as well."

"That's the spirit, kid." Kisame grinned, showing off his pointed teeth.

"Mm." Deidara agreed, nodding.

Sai smiled, then the smile faded as he saw a figure in the doorway quietly slip away. His mood plummeted. Raidan was sure to taunt him about this later. He knew that Sai had meant every word he had said.

lllll

The wind blew across the small, rocky plateau. The members of the Akatsuki stood in a silent circle under the stars. Even Zetsu, usually absent, was present.

A square area of rock in the middle of their circle shifted, revealing a stone staircase from which Sai emerged. The rock closed off behind him. He stood facing Pein, unable to tear his gaze away from the eerie Rinnegan.

"There is no turning back from here." Pein told him, and held out his hand. On it rested a silver ring with a purple top, the symbol for gyoku written in black. "This ceremony is more than a formal induction into our organization, our brotherhood. Once the night is done and the dawn comes, you will arise as Akatsuki. You will be able to communicate with the rest of us, no matter how far away we are. This initiation is no less than a connection of minds. Through this ring you are tied to us."

"And if I lose it?" Sai asked. He still hadn't taken the ring.

Pein's answer was short. "You can't. They have a habit of turning up again."

"I see." Still Sai remained standing motionless.

Raidan made an impatient noise. His black eyes gleamed in the light. "Pein, shall I?"

"No." The orange-haired man answered. His eyes never left Sai's face. "He must do this of his own free will."

"It's not like I have much choice either way." Sai said softly. "Even if I don't take it, you'll still find a way to make me without completely forcing me. I'm the best replacement you could find, and you're not about to lose me because I don't want to wear a ring. Since when have I ever wanted to end up like this, anyway?"

Pein gave a little shrug. "You are correct." He answered, without a single bit of humour in his voice. "Must you make this difficult for us, then?"

Sai hesitated. He glanced up and slightly to the right- and met Deidara's gaze. Deidara...

_"Thanks for sticking up for me, Deidara-san."_

_"Any one of us would have... "_

"Any one of us..." Sai murmured. Then abruptly he turned his head and stretched his hand out, taking the ring.

"It goes on your left thumb." Pein directed, taking several steps back to rejoin the circle. Sai slid it on his left thumb. It bothered him, like it had with the Akatsuki cloak, how pleasant the little cool band of metal felt on his skin. "Now, kneel."

"Hm? Oh, all right." Sai replied, and knelt, his right knee on the ground, his left hand resting on his bent left knee.

The Akatsuki around him closed their eyes. Deidara gave Sai a wink, trying to dispell any nervousness his partner might feel, before closing his own blue eyes.

The various pairs of hands around him moved in unison, hands clapping together. The raised fingers on each hand were all raised except for the rings fingers, which remained interlocked. Chakra began to glow around the hands, then spread around their bodies. Once again at the same time, the Akatsuki around Sai began chanting. The symbols on their rings began to glow. For a while, nothing happened. Then the kanji on Sai's ring began to glow. His eyes flew open. Something... something was tapping his head. Slowly he raised a hand to his head, shaking back his long sleeve, and ran his hand through his hair. Nothing was there. It seemed almost expirimental. Then the feeling increased in intensity. He groaned, knees giving out as he fell to his side, clutching his head, feeling like it was splitting open. Slowly the pain spread over his skull. The moon rose slowly, looking down upon the scene. When it reached its height, directly above them, the chanting stopped.

Sai lay on the ground, trying to breathe normally. It felt like... something was worming its way into his head... The chakra colours around each Akatsuki member pulsed and then changed to match the colour of their rings. A Byakugan user would have found the fourth stage of the initiation interesting. From the ring on Sai's finger, the various chakra colours around him streamed through his body, coiling up in a small space in his head. They were like little threads of chakra- or as Orochimaru would have descbired it, little snakes, slithering through the artist's veins. The process was long, ardous and slow.

Finally a grey light began to pierce the darkness. The moonset was accompanied by the gradually dissapearing stars. One by one, the Akatsuki let their hands drop to their sides. Sai was bracing himself against the ground, trying to catch his breath. A hand was placed on his shoulder and he looked up, wincing slightly as the light from the newly risen sun hit his eyes.

Ever-silent Itachi was offering him a hand. His eyes were unreadable, but the gesture was more than enough. Sai took it, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet before letting go. He swayed slightly, unsteady, but remained standing. All of his new comrades looked slightly weary from the ritual.

Pein blinked slowly at him. "The ceremony is complete." He announced. "Hidan, Kakuzu- get going. The rest- occupy yourselves however you wish until I assign you another mission." His hands moved in a swift, short collection of seals and the little trapdoor of rock opened.

"Aww, cmon, we don't get a fucking break?" Hidan complained, but notably only after Pein had gone.

"No." Kakuzu replied shortly. "You're immortal, you don't need breaks. Now let's go." Moving swiftly, he jumped off the plateau, Hidan grumbling curses as he followed.

"Itachi, we should get a move on with our own objectives." Kisame said to his partner, who just nodded. "And welcome to the Akatsuki, I suppose." He glanced at Sai, who followed Itachi's wordless example. "Hm." Kisame snorted slightly before heading out of the sunlight and down back into the hideout.

"Congratulations, mm." Deidara greeted Sai. "Looks like you made it through all right."

"It certainly wasn't what I was expecting." Sai admitted.

"But you still did pretty well, with the ring not originally being made for you and all." His comrade insisted. "The others agree."

"Did I? I suppose that's a good thing, then."

"Yes, you did." A new voice said. Sai looked around and saw Zetsu- the white half of him was speaking. The white Zetsu's voice was lighter, younger, and clearer than his black half's voice, and overall more cheerful. "You made the right choice, you know, taking that ring."

"Yeah." Sai said, looking at his hands, the painted nails, the ring on his left thumb.

llllll

Later on in the day, closer to evening, Sai was back in his room, trying to get ideas for a drawing. He sat there, head in his hands, feeling absolutely nothing once again. His Akatsuki cloak hung on its hook again; it was bothersome trying to draw with long sleeves. His hand moved of its own accord and he began a blue and green abstract, little clouds merging together. No emotion at all was put into the piece, just like usual, and yet it was beautiful.

There was a knock on his door. Immediately he perked up. Deidara had said he would come by that day; it had to be him.

"Come on in." He called. But as the door opened and closed behind the visitor, his hope to talk to the one person in that hideout that could possibly make him feel better vanished. Raidan smiled at him as if sensing what he was thinking. He could have been reading his mind right then and there.

"What's this?" He asked pleasantly. "As soon as I walk in then you tense up and get on your guard. There's no need to be so on edge. I'm a fellow Akatsuki member, what could I possibly do to you?" He started walking torwards Sai, who tried to move, and found his limbs didn't respond to him anymore. His legs stood up and he faced Raidan, who stopped in front of him.

"What do you want?" Sai asked shortly.

"To remind you." Raidan replied, his black eyes glittering. Suddenly they narrowed and he pointed a finger at Sai. "You think the worst is over, don't you? You think that you've started to make _friends_, here, don't you, even going so far as to calling them _brothers_."

"Why should it bother you if I did? I said it, and I meant it." Sai said sincerely.

That wasn't the answer Raidan had wanted to hear. His hand shot out and he grabbed Sai by the throat, slamming him against the wall.

"They might accept you now." He snarled. "They can tolerate you. But how is it that you manage to infuriate me when I just look at you? Your impassive face... your ever-present mask..." His grip tightened, and Sai began to gasp for air. He had regained control of his own body, but it didn't count for much- he couldn't pry Raidan's hands off of his neck. "How do you do it?" His eyes became slightly wild. "That mask slips _precious_ few times... during the seal's removal, that was the greatest! Yet you can uphold it for so long... I'll never tolerate you!" He swung Sai around with incredible strength, throwing him into the opposite wall. There was the sound of glass shattering as Sai hit a large picture frame and fell to the ground.

Raidan took several deep breaths to try and calm himself. But when Sai sat up again, blood trickling from a cut on his cheek, from several cuts on his arms, his face devoid of any pain or anger or hurt... he very nearly lost it again, but at the last moment controlled himself.

"I wonder how you can control others when you have so much trouble controlling yourself." Sai said tonelessly.

Anger flared in Raidan's eyes again and he held up a hand. Pain flared in Sai's chest, but only for a second before it vanished.

His enemy smiled at him, something that unsettled Sai far more than any torture that Raidan so badly watned to inflict. "I see. You want to trick me in killing you. That way you have an easy way out of this and I would lose favour with the rest of the Akatsuki for robbing them of such a _precious_ boy. No... that won't do at all." He walked over and grabbed Sai by the hair. "Listen to me." He whispered into his ear. "I'm here to remind you that no matter what you do, you'll fail. You seem to have been looking at the light side of things lately. You think that you've been actually accepted, huh? No. By my standards, you haven't. You'll never belong here. Never belong here- or anywhere." He let go and left him there, closing the door off behind him. Sai sat for a long while, staring into space.

_Never belong... _

There was another knock on his door. He shook himself alert and stood up. It couldn't be Raidan; he had accomplished what he had come to do.

"Come in."

Deidara entered and stopped short.

"What happened, Sai, my man? You look like you've been in a fight. You're all cut up."

Sai felt the little trickle of blood sliding down his cheek and wiping it away. "I lost my balance while putting up a new picture." He answered. "It's nothing."

"You sure?" Deidara asked doubtfully.

"Really." Sai smiled at him. Deidara gave a brief smile in return and continued.

"So I was going to talk to you about the seals you used for your art... they're a lot like mine, mm. I was going to ask where you learned them."

Sai finished drawing a broom and pan and thus swept all the glass up. But now nagging doubt was in the corner of his mind.


	6. Bonds of Friendship: Part One

I apologize for the short chapter, but I'm putting more action and a surprise ending in the chapter after this one. I like to call these story parts of Bonds'arcs', with different people/groups of people serving to teach Sai about the corresponding bonds mentioned in the chapter titles. You're going to see some unexpected teachers in the next several arcs, so be prepared for many plot twists!

**Bonds of Friendship: Part One**

lllll

Tsunade frowned slightly, biting her lip, as she stared at a new report. For a month now, there had been strange goings-on, all in some way linked to the Akatsuki. Three weeks ago it had been a group of Iwagakure ninja who had been found dead amidst rubble. An examination of the bodies had revealed that they had been killed swiftly- but not by an explosion, as the scene suggested. They had been stabbed to death; and one man was found without hands. They were group dedicated to tracking down the Akatsuki; and no one else was skilled enough to take down such a large group of elite shinobi. But a sword wasn't any of the Akatsuki members primary weapon, except for the monster of the Hidden Mist, Kisame. His sword didn't slice or stab, however. The next week had seen two shinobi from the Village hidden in the Sand dead. They bore burns, likely due to that Deidara. But their cause of death was their gaping throats, ripped open by some sort of claws. Traces of ink were discovered in the wounds.

And now...

There was a little whooshing noise. Tsunade looked up as an ANBU squad member leaped in through the window and arranged himself in front of her.

She made an impatient noise. "Why do you never use the door?"

"Forgive me, my Lady, but this was quicker." A man's voice came from behind the lynx's mask. It was deep and warm by nature, despite his official tone. Behind the mask was seen a shag of dark green hair.

"I see. Well, I have an S-Ranked mission for you. You will be working together with several ANBU from different villages- so keep on your toes. They requested two of our shinobi to help them find out about these unusual attacks. We fear that the worst has happened, that the Akatsuki have a new member in their ranks... And judging by it, they are extremely skilled. You job is to gather information on them and if possible defeat them or bring them back alive for questioning. Got it?"

"Yes, my Lady." Lynx responded.

"Good. You will rendezvous with the other ANBU right on the northern boundary of Konoha, at the guidepost. I expect to hear you send a report in a week by bird. You have two weeks overall to finish the mission. No matter what, I want you back by two Wednesdays from now, if not earlier. Now, get going."

Lynx nodded. He crossed over to the still-open window and perched on the sill, preparing to take off.

"Wait... Ryoko?" Tsunade called.

The masked ANBU paused. "Yes?"

"Don't go getting yourself killed." The Hokage ordered. "You're one of my best, and we can't afford to lose you."

Underneath his mask Ryoko smiled. "I'll make sure I return to you in one piece. Besides, my son would be really mad at me if I went and died on an adventure without him there to save me."

Tsunade laughed. "He admires you, you know."

"Ai." Ryoko stared into space for a second. "That he does. He's been a little difficult for a while now, though. That friend of his... Sai... well, that pale kid was one of his first friends, and maybe one of Sai's, too, judging by how awkward he was. He really took it hard when I broke the news to him."

"You and Sai knew each other?" She sounded startled.

"Yes, he often poked around the village, and helped out my son with some bullies one day. Kazu kind of adopted him as an older brother. I was a little unsure of the kid at first, but despite how awkward he was, I could see he had a kind heart. So..." He shook his head, unwilling to continue. "Just see what you can do, please, and tell Mishwa- my son's caretaker- that I've gone on another mission."

"I'll send word." Tsunade allowed. The Lynx gave a brief nod of thanks and jumped out the window, bounding across the rooftops and vanishing into the distance.

lllll

Sai panted as he ducked under the fatal chop to the neck. He did a flip backwards, kicking his legs as he did so, surprising his opponent and sending them flying backwards to crash into the ground six feet away. Sai stood up and stretched, shaking his limbs. He had begun to shape up after several weeks of arduous training- his main jutsus did not require great muscle strength, and as such he preferred to practice his art. But now things were different. Pein had suggested that Deidara, never one for hand-to-hand combat, practice with Sai. The physical aspects were beginning to show on Sai, too. He didn't have serious muscles like some guys had, but neither we he as skinny as he was before.

The sun shone down on the plateau. They were training taijutsu in the same area where the ring ceremony had taken place. Dust came up in little puffs wherever the ground was stepped on.

Deidara groaned, rubbing his head. He was dressed in a short-sleeved black shirt and long pants, just like Sai, though both were quite dusty by then. They fought barefoot, but with metal leg weights on to put added stress on the muscles as well as pose some sort of challenge and risk. A kick would really hurt, as Sai had just proved.

"You're getting better." Sai admitted. "I almost missed that last hit of yours."

"Really? Hm." Deidara wondered. "Art can come in many forms, I suppose. This- taijutsu- I admit, it can almost be enjoyable."

"It is, isn't it?" Sai smiled. "Not just that, did you notice how gradually we're becoming attuned to each others moves? When you spar with one partner for a long time, their fighting style becomes engraved upon your own so-"

"So by training together like this, we are able to work together as a team much better in a real fight. I get it." Deidara's lips twitched, but finally he allowed himself to smile slightly as well. "That Pein's a smart one. I agree with you. We have been shaping up well. Hell, I can hardly recognize you for the scrawny kid you were when you came. Your skin is a little bit too clay-white, still, but that's only to be expected. Only _my_ art is perfect, mm."

"I agree." Sai said sincerely. "Your art is quite amazing. However, it hasn't been tested against my own yet, so perhaps it doesn't deserve that title just yet."

Deidara's smile widened and his eyes took on a dangerous edge. "You wanna go?" He teased.

Sai got into a ready posture. "Let's keep it to this match, first." With that, he ran forwards. Deidara was ready for him, and he leaped into the air to doge, but Sai jumped into the air as well. They soared high above the ground, channelling chakra into their legs to be able to make such a jump. Now in the air, the two exchanged a flurry of blows, each blocking the other. Sai spun around, trying to get Deidara with a kick again, but somehow his partner sensed the move and extended his leg as they began to fall back down to the ground again, propelling himself up and Sai down. Sai landed like a spider, on all fours, looking up. He rolled to the side to dodge Deidara's onslaught, letting the blonde drop to the ground. Not thrown off in the slightest, Deidara rushed him.

A familiar orange-haired and silent figure watched from a distance, on the edge of the plateau. They were completely oblivious to his presence, so absorbed were they in their training.

_'Amazing... they work better together than any of the other teams that I arranged.' _Pein thought to himself, his eyes narrowed. _'It seems it was a wise choice taking the boy after all. But how are they able to achieve such unity? True, they are constantly practicing together. But there is something else between them, some unforeseen bond that they share that the others do not.' _

"That's enough." He said, his voice resonating through the air. Sai and Deidara froze and looked his way as Pein approached them, black cloak swirling around his ankles.

"Pein-sama." Sai greeted him, and Deidara nodded. "What is it?"

"Your skills in teamwork are impressive." Pein told them. "But taijutsu is only the first step in your training. I can see you possess great potential for cooperation. The next few steps may very well render you two near impossible to defeat when working together. I have a mission for you- but I still except you to practice on it. When you return, you shall begin training to use your exploding clay, Deidara, and your super beast scrolls, Sai, together."

"A new mission, eh?" Deidara crossed his arms, looking slightly skeptical. "What is it?"

"An ANBU squad is on your trail- but these are no ordinary ANBU. Several different villages have supplied some of their own for this mission, so the variety of attacks they will use will be wide and possibly difficult to counter." Pein told them. "Zetsu informed me... I want you to meet up with them once they are sufficiently far away enough from any civilization, leading them into an expanse of nothingness, and then eliminate them."

"Ah, the cold, heartless ANBU, huh..." Deidara muttered.

Sai shrugged, and inwardly he smiled. "They're not all _that_ cold." His memory winged back...

_"Papa! Papa!" The little green-haired boy shouted, pulling a slightly embarrassed Sai by the hand. "Look! This kid right here, this funny pale one that dresses like a girl-"_

_"Kazu, that's not nice!" The dark green-haired man scolded._

_"But papa! He was amazing! He beat these street bullies up when they tried to jump me! He was just like you, papa, with your awesome ANBU skills and stuff!" _

_Sai tensed slightly. So here was one... an ANBU without his mask. But he seemed almost... normal._

_"Thanks for sticking up for my son." Kazu's father smiled at Sai. "Your parents really taught you well, didn't they?"_

_Sai smiled back. "I don't have any parents. Well, not any that are related to me by blood."_

_"I see." The man regarded him for a second, then stuck out a hand. Sai took it with the hand that wasn't being grasped tightly by Kazu and shook it. "The name's Ryoko."_

_"Sai." Sai replied._

_"How about you come stay with us for a while?" Ryoko invited. "Kazu seems to be rather attached to you."_

"Yeah..." Sai murmured. Deidara looked at him askance.

"Are you there?" He asked impatiently. Sai gave a start, and if were possible looked slightly sheepish. He rubbed his arm with a dusty hand.

"Huh? Oh, yes. Now, what was it?"

"One more thing, Sai..." Pein addressed him. "I spoke with Raidan about his interference in one of your earlier missions."

"What about it?" Sai asked coolly, but inside he was slightly nervous. _'Damnit... he's going to get me for this later, I just know it.'_

"I explicitly forbid him to interfere on this mission." Pein said calmly. "Any actions you make will be your own. Apart from running away, that is. That will serve no tolerance. But other than that form of escape... you have no limits. This will be the mission standard from now on. As I assign you to more dangerous tasks, the time in which Raidan takes to gain control over your body could prove fatal. You will have to rely on your own skills from now on. "

Sai looked at him shrewdly. "I see. Thank you." _'He wants to see how I'll take a battle knowing that I can now have the option of quitting. He wants to test me, now, does he? Hmm... I can easily let myself get killed and escape that way. But Pein knows... that cunning bastard. He knows about the bond forming in between me and Deidara. He knows that I won't be able to kill myself because of the fear of breaking that bond.'_

"We're going to get packed, mm. Cmon." Deidara poked his shoulder and started walking away.

"And wash up." Sai added, running after him, hiding his thoughts from showing through in his eyes. _'I'm sorry, Deidara... but when the chance comes, It'll be a battle between my ties to Konoha and our own friendship.' _

llllll

The team travelled silently. They were all aware of the grim nature of their mission and had still accepted it. It was their job. It was their lifestyle. But more than that, it was their nindo- their ninja way. The mission always came first.

Lynx looked at a rat-masked ANBU from the Village of the Hidden Sands, who was leaping on the tree branches closest to him. The sky was cloudy, sunlight dimmed, giving everything a curiously flat look. Rat glanced over at him.

"Lynx, isn't it?" Rat asked.

"That's what I am." Ryoko gave a faint smile under his mask. He always forgot that those he talked to could not see it.

"Mm." Rat nodded at him then spoke to the whole group. "So, who are we all leaving behind?"

"Keep it quiet." The second Hidden Sand ANBU growled through his brown-striped lizards mask. "You just want to brag about your girlfriend."

Rat seemed affronted. "Fiance, but not for long- we're getting married next month." He corrected his comrade.

"And stop talking so negatively." Lynx cut in. "You're acting like we're all genin. When we set up camp we're going to discuss tactics. I did some extensive study on the known member of the new duo- Deidara, that crazy bomb-obsessed terrorist- and though he would possibly even be too powerful for all of us to take him down, if we plan things right he won't be able to use his kekkai genkai against us, effectively rendering him helpless."

"We can't rule out his partner, whoever he is." Lizard warned.

"We'll have to be extra stealthy from now on." An ANBU from the Hidden Leaf said. "The closer we get to them, the more and more likely it becomes that they will be following _us_. Tomorrow we awake before dawn and split up, making every effort possible to hide our trail and effectively make our presence unknown to our targets."

"Understood, Crane." The sixth and final member of the squad said, adjusting his blue-striped fox's mask that signified him to be from the Hidden Mist.

The ANBU continued on their way, moving like swift shadows through the tree-tops, leaves barely fluttering as they brushed by the fragile greenness.

After a little while Lynx couldn't take the silence any longer. "Hey Rat." He said. "Just a word of advice; if your future wife ever talks to you about having kids, really take it seriously."

"Why? Well, sure, new lives in the world are a big thing." Rat sounded slightly awkward. "But what's your reason?"

"My son doesn't like me being gone all the time." Lynx told him. "You have to consider whether you want your child being raised in a mostly empty household." Ryoko's eyes grew misty just thinking about Kazu, back at home, bitter at his father being gone yet again, bitter that he had to stay home while his daddy went off on a mission without him.

llllll

_"Hey, papa- where are you going?" Kazu cried, reaching out his little arms. Ryoko swept him up in a big hug, spinning him around._

_"The village needs to be protected, Kazu." Ryoko answered. "Stay and play with your friend Sai-kun."_

_"But, papa..." The kid sniffled, then dried his eyes, looking up. "Okay... I'll be a real shinobi! I'll protect the village gates until you come back!" He waited until his father had gone, then finally the tears flowed from his eyes. Sai, feeling at a loss, mentally reviewed his books. _

_'Let's see... if a young child is in distress, they often appreciate a kind voice, reassuring words, and a light hug.' _

_He placed his hand on Kazu's shoulder. "Do not worry." Sai tried to be as comforting as possible, but it was difficult. "You know, if you train hard enough, you'll be able to go out with your father on missions! Would you like me to help you train?" _

_"Oh, yes, please, Sai-chan!" Kazu said eagerly, and grabbed his hand, running off once again, Sai giving a short sigh as he let himself be pulled along. But despite himself, he could not help smiling. Kazu reminded him a lot of a younger Shin, always so eager, always trying to be strong. He was glad that Ryoko had accepted him as Kazu's part-time caretaker, looking over the kid whenever he had the time. He enjoyed spending time with the father as well, talking about their past histories with ANBU and their personal experiences. _

_Lady Tsunade gave a little sigh of exasperation. She had promised Shizune that she would take a short break on such a fine day. Yes, it was nice, a little walk, but there was so much work to be done..._

_Then came a surprising sound from the direction of a nearby small field: A child's laughter. She headed torward it, brushing in between bushes and staring at the scene before her. That emotionless Root boy, Sai... she had long harboured doubts about him, and mistrust. But now she could see that Naruto's words about him beginning to change were true. _

_Tsunade watched Kazu laughing as he tried to kick a small ball away from Sai, displaying good agility for his age. And Sai... that wasn't a fake smile on his face. _

llllllll

Sai was just settling down on the forest grass when he heard a soft whooshing sound, audible to only highly trained ears. He started, then leaped out of the way- just in time.

"Katsu!" Deidara cried, and the spider he had tossed exploded. Sai landed safely on his feet, and whipped around. His partner was grinning at him, bouncing a ball of clay in his hand. It had begun to rain slightly, thunder booming off in the distance. Sai's wet hair plastered to his face as he stared at Deidara for a minute.

"Pein-sama did want us to train, after all." He said cheerfully, and got into a fighting stance. "Well, now, shall we take to the air?"

Deidara's grin widened. "Yeah, I like your idea!" He put a hand into his side pouch and drew out a small ball of clay, feeding it to his hand. Sai slowly drew out his scroll, eyes locked on Deidara's blue ones. They squared off against one another. Now Deidara was shaping the clay and Sai taking out his brush. Suddenly Deidara tossed his finished little bird. Just as smoke poofed everywhere Sai's brush moved with incredible swiftness. Out of the smoke cloud burst two gigantic birds, one made of ink, the other of clay. They soared into the sky, their movements in perfect harmony, spiraling higher and higher. Lightning carved a jagged path through the sky, just missing them.

Sai's hawk tilted to the right. Catching on, Deidara's dove went to the left. They flew in tight, synchronized movements, looping and circling and sometimes making wide turns to recover. When Sai's bird dived downwards, Deidara directed his to shoot forwards. Just before hitting the ground the hawk leveled out and shot back up into the sky, its broad wings revealing a view of the dove. In a real battle, that would have been a deadly move- while their enemies were focused on one aerial predator the second would have a few bombs underway.

"Good move, mm!" Deidara shouted, his voice audible above the rushing of air. The two slowed down to a glide, the tips of their bird's wings lightly brushing the leaves of the trees.

"We really do work well together." Sai agreed, mentally reviewing what he had studied at the Konoha library. The thought of those days sent an unfamiliar pain shooting through him, but it wasn't any physical pain. His smile faltered for a second before he recovered and held his hand up. Deidara looked at him in confusion.

"Huh?"

"It's called a high five." Sai explained. "I read that it's a sign saying 'good job' or something like that... it's still a little unclear, but friends give each other high fives when congratulating each other."

"Friends, eh?" Deidara raised an eyebrow. "Where in hell did you get that idea from, mm."

"I... er..." Sai suddenly seemed awkward and he looked away. "You're right, I wasn't thinking..."

"Sai." Deidara spoke, and Sai looked up. His partner was holding a a hand up, smiling. The mouth on the palm was closed, thankfully. "I was about to say it was just what I was thinking."

Feeling oddly relieved Sai nodded and they high-fived. "You know, Deidara, at first I found it hard to piece you together. But now I know. You might be a bomb-obsessed crossdresser..."

"Hey!" Deidara said indignantly.

"But the truth is, I've seen that you have this other side to you, one that can laugh at a joke instead of an enemy's defeat. I thought I was done for when I was forced to join the Akatsuki. My life, centered around the protection of Konoha, was basically over. But now... I'm not saying I enjoy the purpose behind our missions. But you've actually helped me start to enjoy life again." Sai said, completely sincere. "I had trouble feeling happy, back in the village. I could laugh, yes, but it didn't feel right. I could even have fun. It was a strange feeling, fun. But it didn't come easily. But all this time we've been spending together... its helped to ease some of the pain and indignity of my current position. It's helped me unlock my emotions. Naruto and Sakura started me off, but to my surprise I've been..." Sai hesitated, searching for the right words. He found it difficult putting all his thoughts together into words. "I've been evolving much faster now that you're my friend. Thank you."

"You're something apart, do you know that, kid?" Deidara said after a moments silence. "I can't exactly describe this like you just did, mm. Thanks a lot. Now any artwork of words I compose will sound like shit compared to your masterpiece. What can I say, really?" Their birds swooped down and they jumped off, landing softly on the carpeted forest floor. The ink hawk dissolved and the black ink flew back into it's container, while the dove continued its flight over the trees until a distant explosion was heard as it detonated itself. Deidara loved the sound.

"Hey, Sai, would you mind heading to the river and getting some water?" Deidara asked him.

"Sure." Sai began to head off, but was stopped by Deidara's hand on his shoulder.

"Just to add to my crappy speech earlier..." Deidara continued. "You've helped me 'evolve', too. I can't remember the last time I've laughed at someone other than a dying opponent, and for very different reasons, mm. I just wanted to tell you that I really appreciate you being with us, Sai."

Sai nodded, touched. He returned the shoulder clap and departed, leaping through the trees.

_'Deidara... why? Why did I ever have to become your friend? How in hell it happened...'_ His eyes narrowed in contemplation. _'I don't know... but now our bonds are becoming strong... will I ever be able to break them and let myself get killed?' _

llll

_'He actually hasn't noticed us yet... his guard is let down, he didn't know that we'd get here so fast." _Lizard thought, staring down through the branches. He was completely silent and still but for occasional slight movements to go with the flow of the wind in the trees. Luckily quite a fierce storm was going on now.

The rest of them but for Lynx were arranged in various positions in the trees, keeping a careful watch on the Akatsuki member. As soon as an opening came, they would strike. Lynx would serve as the last resort, with his incredibly swift fire-style jutsu. If everything went wrong, they had no qualms about giving up their lives to allow Lynx to take out all of them. If it meant destroying some of the Akatsuki, then they would do whatever it took. Well, perhaps Rat had some regrets. Maybe they all did. But the mission had taken its toll on them. No longer were they villagers. They were the ANBU Black Ops. Lizard fingered a long roll of wire at his belt. Still, he hoped... he hoped that it would never have to be used.

He looked to his right at hearing a chickadee's soft twitter. Sure enough, Crane nodded at him, then made a swift slashing motion with two fingers. Lizard acted upon the cue immediately. There was no time to waste if the very slight movement had caught the Akatsuki man's attention- the ANBU were too wary to underestimate their enemy.

lllllllll

Deidara whipped around as his instincts cried out to him, and just avoided being hit by a small sphere, that exploded in midair. Smoke engulfed him and he coughed, hand plunging into the clay pouch at his side. He had hardly done so when a glint appeared in the smoke and a whirlwind of shuriken flew at him. Cursing, he dodged to the side.

"Damnit, Sai, where are you?" He muttered, and then sensing a presence behind him, he ducked and narrowly avoided being beheaded. But as he ducked, the smoke began to clear, and he caught a glimpse of something long, thin, and silvery in the grass... then his legs froze. He tried to move and found he couldn't. The last of the smoke cleared away, and he saw an ANBU crane-masked member standing in front of him, their shadows connected.

"We've got you." Crane mask said.

"That's what you think, birdbrain." Deidara snarled. He struggled with the influence of the shadow-style jutsu. Yet he could do nothing as two ANBU, a lizard-mask and a fox-mask approached. His cheeks reddened slightly as they carefully but swiftly cut open his cloak and removed it, leaving him in his fishnet shirt and long pants. Unbuckling both clay pouches, Fox and Lizard wrapped them up in plastic, placing them into their small backpacks. He willed himself to keep a straight face as they searched him for hidden weapons. Finally satisfied, the duo backed off and joined their group again. Deidara closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, then letting it loose.

_'I can't let these fools take me away for questioning. The river is a while off, so unless Sai hurries he won't get back in time. This shadow possession jutsu... it's a Hiden jutsu, but I can tell that it uses a great deal of chakra, as the book listed its time limit at the most five minutes. If it were just chakra, I could channel mine torward my legs and carefully pry it off. However, it somehow incorporates the essence of the shadows too. And shadows... shadows are broken only by light. I need a light. But how?...' _He opened his eyes, and noticed the ANBU preparing restraining chains to wrap him up in, and he knew he was out of time. Deidara swiftly came to a decision and concentrated. He channelled chakra through his legs, secretly loosening one half of the jutsu. Lizard and Fox walked his way, chains at the ready. He waited until they were almost on him, then with a shout let the energy within him flare outwards. It created a burst of bluish-purplish light that dissolved the connection. For a moment they were blinded. A moment was all he needed. He leaped and twirled in the air, putting all that force from the outburst earlier into a strategically placed kick and a punch. The two ANBU went down without a sound as their necks broke. Deidara landed gracefully on his feet, his hair twirling about him, and smiled at the three remaining.

"What, cat got your tongue?" He taunted. "Looks like you fools actually underestimated me."

Rat looked at him, his face shocked behind his mask. "But- you're not supposed to be able to do taijutsu! Your fighting style never varied. You go for over-the-top explosions, using your explosive clay in conjunction with the mouths on your hands to make realistic, animated models."

"True, this isn't my style, not my style at all. It's not even art." Deidara said disdainfully. "But you're a joke compared to the one I train with every day now, mm." He recalled one of his earlier practice brawls with Sai and moved to stand with his right leg forward, bent slightly at the knee, his left leg back and bent even more slightly. His arms were at the ready to block or deliver blows.

"And who may that be?" Crane asked quietly. If he were upset by the death of his one-time comrades, he didn't show it.

"Like I'd tell you." Deidara returned.

Crane was silent for a moment, then looked up. His tone was reasonable. "You must accept the facts, Deidara-kun. Even with your obviously advanced taijutsu, you cannot defeat us. Your main form of attack is gone. You cannot have practiced taijutsu so much as to be able to stand against us for so long, alone too. We are able to use ninjutsu, kenjutsu, and genjutsu as well. You caught us by surprise, which was a fatal mistake for Lizard and Fox especially. But it will not happen again. Face it, you're outnumbered and outclassed."

The blonde knew the truth in those words, but he could not do anything else but fight. With a yell, he dashed forwards, and ducked under the first weapon thrown at him, leaping over a blast of wind coming from his right.

_'Here goes nothing... Let's see if all that training was worth it!'_

llllllllllllll

I like writing Deidara's different sides. I feel like I made him too mushy, overemotional and OOC when he spoke to Sai about their friendship in this chapter. It feels much more natural writing about him goading his enemies into being reckless and delighting in their defeat. I can only wonder what Sai would think if he saw that scene for himself as a bystander.


	7. Bonds of Friendship: Part Two

**Bonds of Friendship: Part Two:**

**Flames of...?**

llllllllll

Sai frowned as he climbed down the little cliff to get a bucket of water. He had left his Akatsuki cloak on the edge. Wanting to challenge himself, he didn't just create a bird to fly down to the river on, nor did he use chakra control to walk down the cliff. To make things harder, he did it all with his eyes closed, feeling for handholds and judging distances. But that wasn't what was troubling him. He had a sense that he was needed. Grunting from the effort, he latched onto a good crack in the rock and swung himself up, flipping his body around with incredible middle and arm strength, soaring over backwards and landing on his feet safely on the cliff's edge. He ran for his super-beast scroll, then paused.

_'It won't do any good to charge in on the situation, if there is one. The best thing for me to do is approach with all secrecy and caution, assess the situation and then do whatever it takes to defuse the problem. Keeping this in mind...'_ He donned his cloak and began drawing, using the last of his ink. The rest had been left at camp. _'Hang in there, Deidara, I'm coming!'_

lll

Deidara cursed quietly to himself, holding his limply hanging left arm. From the looks of it, the last attack of that Rat guy had broken it- his earth-style wasn't anything to be trifled with. He had judged Crane's character very well, but had misjudged Rat. He had taken him as a fool and a weakling, and he was anything but. The earth he had used to grab his arm and snap it in half before he could tear out of the jutsu reminded him unpleasantly of his first fight with the jinchuuriki Gaara and his sand coffin. However, this injury wasn't going so far as his whole arm being torn off. But still, a broken arm meant a useless arm.

_'It's not like I can use clay right now anyways...'_ He thought. The dead bodies of Lizard, Fox, and Otter had been removed by Crane, who had taken the chance at a temporary reprieve after using his exhausting shadow based jutsu. Rat's hands began to move in the first stages of an earth-style jutsu, and Deidara tensed, moving one foot to the left-

"Too slow!" Rat shouted, and the earth beneath Deidara dropped out from underneath him.

"What the...?" He gasped, but in another second the crumbling earth had reformed and shot up, knocking him out of the newly created hole and into a tree. He lay amidst the splinters of wood, waiting as Rat approached. The ANBU's fists were clenched, he noticed, and inwardly smiled. It looked like this was a newcomer to the special forces, if a powerful one. Deidara made his voice slightly condescending. "Coming to take revenge for your comrades, now, aren't you? Go ahead and try."

Rat put his hand on his katana, but then froze, staring at him.

"What's the matter?" Deidara kept talking. "It was so easy dropping those other masked idiots. The feeling of their necks snapping underneath me... not so transient and beautiful as an explosion, but satisfying nonetheless, mm. Easy as killing a baby." He saw his opponent's hand twitch at the word _baby_and seized the oppertunity. "Oh, so you're a family man? Looking for a family? Naw, you're too young. Babies are noisy, squalling things, crappy pieces of art. They're not even art, just trash, them and the women who-"

"You shut up." Rat growled. "Run your mouth one more time and I'll have to stop it for you." Yet his hand trembled as it drew out the blade.

Instilling anger in a logical opponent was very effective. Deidara knew this. He knew that anger would cloud Rat's judgement and cause him to attack without thinking. He had practiced more with his right hand, either way. One more taunt... one more would do it.

"I wonder what your wife thinks of you going out on dangerous missions like these. Worried sick that her poor dear won't come back... oh, wait. I have it all wrong, mm. You ANBU operate in total secrecy, don't you? You go off and vanish without telling her. Who knows- maybe when you get back..." His tone became suggestive. "She'll be with another man, the little slut."

It worked. Rat's eyes flamed behind his mask as he charged forwards. Crane made a move to stop him but then froze in his tracks. If he interfered with his jutsu, he would have little to no chakra left. He had to save it. Deidara dodged the first lightning-fast swipe of the sword and ducked under the next few, his confidence increasing. A little grin even tugged at the corners of his mouth and he chuckled.

"Is that all you can do? Huh?" His voice was scathing. "You're nothing-ahh!" He broke off with a gasp of pain as his foot slipped and the sword drove through his shoulder, missing the bone but pinning him to a tree. His hand rested lightly on the sword, his fingers curling around it.

"I got you, you sneaky bastard." Rat snarled.

Deidara stared at him, for a moment feeling a flicker of fear. Then it vanished as abruptly as it had come, and a slow grin broke through and spread over his face. Rat's eyes widened. His katana... it had pierced the _left_ shoulder, and immobilized the already useless left arm, leaving the right arm free. In a flash Deidara's right hand lashed out, gripping the back of Rat's neck and pulling him close. It wouldn't have been a fatal move except the mouth on his palm bit down as hard as it could. Still only stunned, Rat was beginning to fall backwards when he was finished off with a twist to his neck. Deidara tore the blade out of his shoulder and kicked away Rat's body.

"What are you guys teaching the kids at the academy nowadays?" He asked simply. "That's four of you now that I've taken down without any life threatening injuries. The ANBU are getting soft, it seems." He looked critically at Crane. "Your shadow jutsu used up a lot of your strength, didn't it? I'm not in such great shape myself, but after a kill I feel pretty chipper. This is new art form to me, and I'm liking it a lot. You'll be an easy, quick kill before I lose too much blood."

Crane finally lost his cool. His hands moved in a swift succession of signs and he shouted a command, his shadow extending to try and blend with Deidara's. But the Akatsuki leaped out of the way before it could reach him. He dodged all Crane's attempts to get him caught in the shadow possession jutsu.

lll

Kakashi watched the others go. He had insisted that he would catch up to them; there was still something he had to do.

As soon as they were gone from sight he turend back around to the still-smoking crater in the ground. Wincing, a hand on the many deep, needle-like wounds over his heart, he jumped down with a rather awkward landing. The jonin wasn't stupid. He would have to get back to Sakura soon before the wearying affects of the Sharingan and more importantly, blood loss, set in.

It was as he had expected. The man- the thing- still wasn't dead.

A Raikiri took shape in Kakashi's right hand, and he walked up to Kakuzu's body, kneeling down to deliver final words. But his enemy beat him to it.

"Your..." The mouth with the stitches at the corners had difficulty forming the words. "Your... black haired brat..."

Kakashi's eyes widened and he froze. Blood dripped from his chest onto Kakuzu's own beat-up body, but neither of them paid attention. "Sai?" He whispered.

"He's not dead." Kakuzu murmured. "Won't tell us... anything."

"Why are you telling me this?" Kakashi asked suspisciously. "You're a miserly bounty hunter co existing with the Akatsuki. You wouldn't give me any truths for free."

The rasping chuckle turned into a hacking cough. "I might be miserly.. but I pay off all debts. This is mine... to my conscience." The red and green eyes were dull, but the lips still moved. Kakashi's raikiri still hadn't made contact. All he could see in his mind was Sai's tiny, transparent smile. It was mirrored in the little smile on Kakuzu's face. Another little cough drew him back to the real world. Kakuzu's gaze drifted past Kakashi, looking up at the blue sky.

"You-"

"Konoha... shinobi, don't go after... h..." Kakuzu's words trailed off and his last breath escaped him. Kakashi sat back on his knees and let the lightning jutsu dissapate. He let out a long, slow sigh, staring at his dead opponent's body. Slowly, he reached over and closed the dead man's eyes, but still was disturbed by how peaceful his enemy seemed.

_'Don't go after him? Of course, they wouldn't want me to go after Sai before they can extract information from him.' _Kakashi sat for a little while longer before he heard the young voices of Naruto and Sakura arguing. Three heads popped up at the brink of the crater- his two remaining students and Yamato.

"Hiya, sensei, you were gone a while so we just decided to come check on you!" Naruto said cheerfully. Kakashi smiled up at him, and got unsteadily to his feet. He teetered for a second before falling back down.

Several harried minutes later a rather sheepish-looking silver-haired jonin was gingerly adjusting the new bandages around his chest.

"Good job healing, Sakura, it appears you've learned a lot from Lady Tsunade." He complimented her. _'He's not dead. He's alive.'_

"Something bothering you, senpai?" Yamato asked keenly.

"You got me." Kakashi shrugged. "Kakuzu said something... He told me that Sai was alive, that they still had him." He held up a finger to stop the inevitable flood of startled exclamations and hopeful questions that followed. "But he told me to not come after him."

"Not to come after him? They're probably torturing him, that's why!" Naruto said angrily, his hands balling into fists.

"Maybe..." Kakashi trailed off, and tried to get up. Several things happened at once; a wave of vertigo crashed over him just as his limbs stiffened and his muscles froze up. Luckily, Yamato had expected such a reaction and caught him, lending him a shoulder to lean on.

"The Sharingan?" prompted his former subordinate.

"Ai." Kakashi sighed, earning himself a reproach.

"Someday you're going to overdo it, senpai." Yamato laughed. Kakashi smiled at him through his now rather dusty mask. His weary eyes showed a twinkle in them that Yamato hadn't seen for a long while. However, Kakashi didn't give him an answer. Both of them fell silent, contemplating possible meanings behind Kakuzu's words. But Kakashi had much more to think about.

_'The way that Akatsuki had spoken about Sai... it was almost as if he had cared for him.'_

llllllll

Crane was sweating. Beads of it rolled down his face. His eyes moved from left to right as he directed his shadow this way and that, frantically trying to keep sight of the impossibly quick Akatsuki. Even as wounded as he was, the blonde was incredible. What a fatal surprise it had been, his new mastery of skills. All Crane could see in those moments was Deidara's grinning face. There! His shadow made a lunge. No. Gone. _There!_ Gone. With his wild, spiky hair that had come loose from its ponyail, Deidara looked almost insane. His eyes, certainly, enthralled Crane. How could that bastard be looking so happy? It was a matter of life and death! How could he enjoy himself? Deidara eluded him once again. And in that moment, Crane's strength ran out. Several things happened simultaneously: His knees buckled beneath him. Deidara shot forwards. The shadow vanished. The Akatsuki man had planted a foot on his chest, holding him down, and was reaching for the katana at Crane's side.

Desperately squirming in a last-ditch effort, Crane almost succeeded in drawing the blade himself.

_'I'm going to die.'_ He thought numbly, as his weakened arms gave out. _'It's over. I'm...'_ Deidara pushed his grasping hand aside, drew the katana, and then plunged it into his heart.

Deidara drew it out with a soft squelching noise. He sighed wearily and took a step back, all the fighting spirit going out of him. What a takedown. Well, it was ov-

_Snap_.

There was a slight popping noise. Deidara looked down in confusion. The silvery glinting on the ground... wires suddenly arose from their hiding place in the thick, blood-soaked grasses and tightly wound around him, tangling him in a metallic spiderweb. He struggled vainly against the trap wires. Odd... they didn't cut his skin as normal wires would have. Instead, they slid over his skin a few times before one area of skin was cut lightly. The metal was coated with some sort of... Deidara's face paled. _Oil!_

"Damnit!" He swore. But he couldn't do anything trapped like this. A lone, lynx-masked ANBU appeared on a tree branch, clear of the wires. Their eyes met. Deidara snarled at him, and in response the ANBU put his hands together in a seal. A fireball began to grow above his hands. Deidara kept struggling as it grew larger and larger. He could feel the heat even from here. The last seal was finished, and the fireball shot on its course, directed by the wires, going to hit Deidara head-on. His body had finally begun to realize all the blood it had lost and he sagged in the grip of the wires as the approaching darkness increased along with the extreme heat. "Damnit..." He whispered.

There was a huge roaring sound. Water erupted from the ground, forming a whirling tornado around Deidara. The fireball hit it and was extinguished; safe in the center, Deidara stared disbelievingly as the powerful surge of water cut the wires. He collapsed on the ground, wondering what was planned for him next. Capture, torture, imprisonment... There was a shout, and he tilted his head slightly, looking up. Sai jumped off of his ink bird and landed by Deidara harmlessly.

"Deidara!" He said urgently. "Are you-"

"Since when..." Deidara mumbled, then paused and tried to summon a stronger tone. "When in _hell_ did you learn water style jutsu?"

"Ever since Danzo-san tasked me with killing Sasuke Uchiha, who is strong with fire jutsus." Sai said briefly. He hesitated as Deidara's eyes closed, lapsing into exhausted unconsciousness. Deidara had to be all right for now. His wounds weren't life-threatening- he simply had been through a tough fight. The main problem was that last, remaining ANBU. He shouldn't be too hard, except it looked like all of his ink had been destroyed by the ANBU Deidara had taken out. He felt a flicker of admiration for his partner- it must have been quite a fight.

Closing his eyes, Sai directed the water tornado to shoot torward Lynx, rising over them and hitting the ANBU man full-on. The newest Akatsuki member didn't waste any time. He ran to the fallen ANBU, drawing his katana, intending for a quick kill. He leapt to the side to dodge a beat-up patch of unstable earth, and then his foot slid slightly as it hit something unexpected. Sai glanced down and paused. A cracked lynx's mask. Had he already killed...? Senses alert, he dodged to the side, avoiding a shuriken tossed at him. However, just as it passed him, it exploded into several smaller ones. Uttering a small curse Sai deflected three, the fourth cutting a deep slash near the base of his neck before embedding itself in a tree. He whipped around... and froze.

The ANBU had frozen, as well. Brown eyes stared into black ones. That full head of dark green, curly hair... the unlined face and broken nose... Sai took a small step backwards.

"Sai-kun?" Ryoko asked disbelievingly. "_You're_ the new Akatsuki?" Then he clenched his fists. "No. The Sai I know would never betray his village, his friends, his _family_."

"Ryoko-kun..." Sai's voice trailed off. Then his gaze flickered to Deidara's motionless form behind Ryoko, and his face relapsed into its old emotionless state. The new Sai retreated for the moment, trying to hide behind its past self for the present. "I'm sorry, Ryoko-kun, but I cannot let you kill my partner, nor can I allow you to return to Konoha with such dear information."

"You're planning to kill me, aren't you?" Ryoko spoke harshly. "Don't get me wrong, Sai-kun. I am not afraid of death. But what will Kazu be left with if you kill me here?"

Sai's eyes widened slightly. _Kazu_... Ryoko's son. That was him. He remembered the child's sweet voice and pure, untainted happiness, all the fun they had together. How could he deprive the child of his father, and deprive himself of a frie- a former friend? How could he-

_Wooosh!_ A gusting, sizzling noise rushed through the air. While Sai had been distracted, Ryoko had seized the chance and sent a collection of flames to hit him, throwing him backwards. However, he emerged from it with only a few slight black scorches on his face, and a small hole in his sleeve.

"That was a direct hit." Ryoko said disbelievingly. "You-" He bit his lip and broke off, getting battle-ready once more. However, he could not begin to guess at the level of Sai's skill- Danzo had trusted him, out of all the Foundation, to assassinate Sasuke, despite his own rather young age. Now combined with his training time with Naruto's team and the huge advances he had made with the Akatsuki, Sai felt a strange, almost familiar emptiness inside him that he hadn't felt for a long time. It was the emptiness he had felt as part of the Root, when going to assassinate someone and knowing their chances of survival to be nil. It was made much easier by the fact that Kazu had once told him all about his father and how bravely he fought... as well as _how _he fought. 'Big fire, Daddy always uses lots of it!' A little crudely put, but good enough.

The old Sai was back. He had no qualms about using Kazu's words against his former friend now. His hands formed four seals only, but the result was enormous; all the leftover water from the water tornado rose up from the ground, seeping out of cracks, forming a gigantic beast. It towered above Ryoko, letting loose a gigantic roar. With a loud curse Ryoko threw up a shield of fire, but was still swept aside by the claws of water. Steam billowed everywhere. Sai had been careful not to let any of the water or steam get to Deidara. He had to be quick and move his partner while Ryoko was temporarily disabled. But he couldn't just stop the jutsu. He needed to maneuver it somewhere that wouldn't harm Deidara when it collapsed. It wasn't really a big deal, however. It should have been taking an enormous toll on his chakra. In reality, he hardly felt the drain.

_'Is this what Raidan meant?'_ Sai wondered. There wasn't any time for such thoughts. Ryoko was already getting back up, scowling at him. His eyes were slightly wild and his hair sopping wet, plastered to his face, a face that Sai had so long looked up to. But now, he found that face, so full of human desperation, slightly repulsing. This... _thing_ wasn't his hero.

"Burn in Hell." Ryoko said savagely. "Do you really want to do this? Do you really want to take my life, and by a certain extent, Kazu's own?"

Sai didn't reply but gathered his thoughts, preparing to direct his water beast. Ryoko twirled his own hands around, fire trailing from his fingers, making one of his own trademark fireballs. The flickering orange flames cast alternating light and shadow on the man's face and reflected in his increasingly desperate eyes.

llllll

Raidan's vision flickered for half a second as he felt a sudden sharp dropping feeling in the pit of his stomach and he immediately withdrew within himself, cutting off the chakra flow completely.

"Looks like Sai's in a fight." He said briefly to Kisame. The shark man raised an eyebrow.

"You helping him out?"

Raidan simply gave his fellow Akatsuki a small smile. "Of course." He stated. "It's my job, isn't it? I'm always there to look out for my new little brother."

llllll

Sai had the upper hand. Ryoko was beginning to get exhausted from the battle. He felt power coursing through his veins, yet he wasn't overjoyed with it- he simply tolerated it. This power that was being lent to him carried the taint of Raidan clear as day. It was almost sickly, this energy. Yet he needed it to win this battle before-

His arms twitched. Sai paused, about to direct the water beast unto a decisive strike. Then his knees shook. Then with a horrible chill running through him, Raidan's power dissapeared, causing Sai to sway on his feet then fall to his knees.

_'What the hell?'_ He thought dumbly. _'Raidan... what did you do?'_ He desperately tried to call upon his own chakra reserves, but something- or rather, someone- had sealed them away. Sai took a quick, deep breath and pushed away the beginnings of panic. He drew his sword and got up, trying to look as cool and indifferent as possible. However, Ryoko hadn't missed anything.

"You just exhausted yourself." Ryoko guessed shrewdly. He shook his wet hair and coughed up some water, rubbing his eyes to clear them. "You gave up a sure-win strategy with that water beast of yours, which was much too powerful for my flames to overcome. However, you were foolish in its handling, allowing it to completely drain your chakra."

_'Not gone, just locked away.'_ Sai thought. _'But there's no time- here he comes!'_ He found that he was still able to draw out some chakra from his body, but it was like pulling a worm out of its hole- if he tried too hard or fast, like for any more powerful jutsus, it would just slip away. Such careful extraction took time to learn- time he didn't have. Ryoko unfortunately saw and pressed his advantage, knowing that Sai could not block flames with his sword.

The ANBU lunged with his sword- an easy parry. But a tongue of flame emerged from Ryoko's hands, wound itself around the balde, and then around Sai's left sword arm, burning it severely and forcing him to drop the sword. Leaping backwards, Sai would have glared at Ryoko if he could've. Instead, the green-haired man clapped his hands together to perform a jutsu. He directed a huge fireball torward Sai. However, instead of dodging to the side, Sai made to leap over it to try and get to Ryoko while he was concentrating on the fire. It would have worked- if it had been any ordinary fire. Sai's eyes widened for half a second as the fire followed him into the air and surrounded him, hovering in the air.

Time was of the essence. He had to get out of this _fast_. Sai clenched his teeth and tried to concentrate, but it was impossible. He sheathed his katana and brought his hands together.

"Hah!" Ryoko let out a shout of laughter. "I told you you'd burn in Hell for betraying us!" His laughter faded slightly as he saw some sort of... liquid forming around Sai's head, protecting him.

Well, partially. He couldn't inhale water, but that was the least of his problems then. He had to do something before he either drowned, lost control of that dangerously narrow thread of chakra he had remaining, or burnt to a crisp. Slowly letting out his breath Sai managed to move his hands through the flames in a cutting motion.

_"__Suiton- Hahonryū!"_ Sai yelled as the water exploded outwards. _'I have to thank Yamato-sensei for that one...'_ He thought, watching narrowly as the man he was facing was pushed backwards by the angry torrent of liquid.

He ignored the screaming pain of the burns that the fire had left upon him, ignored the gash stationed near his neck. He danced forward, newly drawn katana cutting through the air, and plunged it through Ryoko's chest.

lllllll

I'm sorry for the rather abrupt ending, but I'm going on vacation for the next week and thought, oh what the hell, I'll just finish this bit and get it over with.

Happy Fourth of July, those who celebrate!


	8. Bonds of Friendship: Part Three

Yes, yes, this part of the story has been long in coming, but more on that later. For now, enjoy! :)

**Bonds of Friendship: Part Three: **

**A Rival**

* * *

A pair of dazed blue eyes opened simultaneously, although one was covered by a shag of blonde hair. Wonder appeared in them as their owner walked around. Little wisps of smoke curled off the sorched earth. All underbrush had been burned away within a few metre's radius around the clearing, yet no fires still ate away at the forest. Indeed, some trees bordering the area were still sopping wet. Little drops of water dripped from their ponderous green leaves and splashed onto the ground noiselessly.

Deidara noted with some surprise that he was still alive. His injured arm was neatly bandaged and put into a sling, and the nausea he had felt earlier was almost entirely gone. Sitting up, he examined the bandages. Standard issue, nothing new, used by shinobi and outlaws alike. Yet someone had to have put these on him in the first place.

"Who...?" He muttered, still uncomprehending. Then his gaze fell on a form resting against a tree to his right.

Paper-white skin. His eyes widened. Ink-black hair. He scrambled to his feet. Fiery red burns; on the arms, legs, visible through a tattered shirt.

"Sai!" Deidara yelled. "Sai! He came to a stop by his partners side. A little roll of white bandages was resting nearby, partially unraveled. Deidara ground his teeth in frusteration. "You bastard, why did you treat me first, mm? Give me that!" Grumblng darkly to himself, Deidara snatched the bandages and began to unroll a length.

"No need for that..." A raspy yet welcome voice said.

Deidara grunted in reply. "Yeah. Right, mm."

"No, it's just-" Sai broke off into a series of hacking coughs. Alarmed, Deidara raised a hand with the intention to pat his back, but the boy waved him off. The coughs gradually subsided, but unhealthy-sounding wheezes remained. "Too much... smoke." Sai managed to gasp out. He took another moment to catch his breath. "Deidara, what I meant is that the burns shouldn't really be covered until I can get to a river and wash them. It's fine."

Deidara hesitated. He felt at a loss, a feeling he despised. He always had to be in control of the situation no matter what. Yet now it felt like things were going to snowball downwards. "Are you sure?"

Sai gave him a tiny smile. "Yes. Thank you." His words and tone were as polite as ever.

Deidara rose to his feet, albeit rather unsteadily. "I'm going to salvage whatever I can." He stated. "Don't die on me, mm."

Sai let his head fall back against the tree. He gave a short sigh. _'It's over.'_ He thought numbly. _'We're safe. It's over.'_ No, it wasn't over. He could not fathom why Raidan had cut off their connection at such a crucial point. Did the man's hatred for him run that deep? He couldn't think. The constant, driving pain from his burns drove away the concerns that rested so heavily upon his mind; yet at the same time he felt as if Ryoko's last wish might be fulfilled and the pain would drive him all the way to Hell still. Sai was thankful for his natural impassive expression as Deidara completed his task and headed over, now bearing a makeshirt and dissapointingly light pack.

"Here. Careful, now-" Deidara winced as Sai stumbled to his feet, using his helping hand as a support. They began to make slow progress, an awkward feeling lingering in the air as Sai could not walk so well on his own. With arms around each other's shoulders and shuffling feet, the strangeness just intensified.

It was just an hour's walk, but it seemed much longer. The air had become a little warmer as noon became the afternoon, and more humid. Flies occasionally buzzed around their heads which neither had the strength to bat away. Eventually, they came to a river. It was a curious stream, to say the least. There were a good six metres of bare, relatively smooth pale rock between the forest and the river's edge, although the last half-metre was slick and wet. In the river, however, there was a selection of rocks and dips that created an alternation of dangerous rapids and one safe pool. Birds chirped out cheerful tunes here in perfect harmony with the constant rush and tumble of the rapids.

Here the two sank to the ground, exhausted.

Sai stared at the glittering water. He felt hot and sticky, and besides that his wounds hurt more than ever. The swimming-hole's water looked so cool and inviting... Making up his mind he extricated his arm from around Deidara's shoulders and stood up wobbily.

"Where are you going?" Deidara panted. The blonde had taken off his Akatsuki cloak long ago, and Sai had his completely burned to pieces in the first place, but they were still sweating in the summer's heat.

"To take a swim." Sai replied. He waded into the water, grimacing at the first chill upon raw skin. Given another half a minute, the chill had faded and he was comfortably numb. Something tickled his legs. He looked down and saw some curious guppies checking out this new, strange creature that had invaded their waters. There was a splash. The guppies took fright and darted away, their silver scales flashing as sunlight glanced upon them. Deidara waded in a little further, taking care to not strain himself.

"Don't go in any farther." Sai said simply.

"I know! What are you, my mother?" Deidara snapped, then as there was silence he immediately felt guilty and turned around to apologize. "Ah, sorry, Sai-"

"It's nothing." Sai smiled at him, but Deidara wasn't sure whether it was a real smile or a fake one. "I just don't want all of my hard work to go to waste."

The silence between them lengthened, forming a chasm of sorts. Sai spoke no further as he recalled the expression on Ryoko's face just as he died. Anger. Betrayal. Then his mind's eye looked elsewhere, and he suddenly saw Naruto's face in that same twisted pattern.

_'Why, Sai?' _The face was asking. _'Why did you forget about us?' _The voice rang in his ears, getting louder and louder. Other voices joined- Sakura, Kakashi, Yamato, even Kazu's, which hurt most of all. He was surprised at the hurt. Never had he felt anything like it before...

"Hey." Deidara splashed a little water on him. "Where did you go just now, mm?"

Sai turned to look at him. He was tempted to say 'I've stayed right here this whole time', but he knew that what the blonde meant was entirely different.

"Just went home." Sai murmured, trailinng his hands in the river water. The guppies were back.

Deidara kept staring at him. "Are you coming back anytime soon?"

Sai shrugged and turned away, getting out of the water. Deidara gave a frusterated snort and followed him. Sai had his eyes on the ground, but his partner was looking around warily.

_'One of us has to be alert, and obviously the kid's not in the mood.' _He thought to himself, and unwittingly stepped closer to Sai. _'I feel like... no. Someone's definitely coming.' _He peered through the trees, pushing back his bangs and activating the device that rested over his other eye. Nothing. He extended the length. Coming steadily closer, though not seeing them yet, was someone in an orange suit.

"Damnit!" Deidara swore. Sai turned around, confused, and for a breathless second then Deidara looked at his face.

"What is it, Deidara?" Sai asked, completely ignorant of the million thoughts racing through the other's head. As he watched, the shock in Deidara's eyes faded, replaced by a grim, determined look that he had never seen before in those blue eyes. Moving quickly, Deidara swung his good fist around and knocked Sai to the ground. Now sure that his partner was unconscious, Deidara swiftly removed his Akatsuki ring, donning his robe and sticking the ring in his pocket. He was about to stick his hand into his pocket to search for a ready made clay bird, then froze.

He was already... The orange-suited shinobi leaped from the trees and landed in front of them.

There had to be another way. Deidara bent down, flicking a retractable knife out from his pocket, and with the same arm hoisted up Sai with the knife to his throat. This done, he leered at his opponent- Naruto Uzumaki faced him, a gleam of red in his round blue eyes.

* * *

Naruto couldn't speak. One cloaked Akatsuki blonde right in front of him. Deidara, the mad bomber who had dangled Gaara's lifeless form before horrified eyes, who had sat on it so casually and threw nasty remarks. And in his grasp now... Sai.

Naruto didn't take note of the unfamiliar black clothing, nor did he notice the painted nails. His eyes briefly rested on black hair that had grown to a little past ear length; but then again, nobody would get to go for haircuts in captivity. Mostly he only saw the bloody stain spreading near the neck and shoulders, as well as the angry red burns visible through tatters of a shirt. Explosions could cause burns. Deidara fought with explosions. Therefore, this was all Deidara's fault.

Deidara gave a foxlike grin and waggled to knife suggestively. The sharp blade, normally used for cutting clay, nicked the soft skin of the pale throat it touched. A little bit of blood trickled down, and Naruto's gaze followed it, his fists clenching.

"I wouldn't try anything, if I were you, mm." He jeered. "Or else I'm going to have to _cut _this reunion short." Despite his infuriating exterior, he was panicking on the inside.

_'Shit. Shit! SHIT! This is bad, really bad! I need to get to my clay and beat the hell out of here, but with one arm busted, I've got no chance.' _His eyes darted to the side, then back to Naruto. They were a safe distance from the water's edge by now. If the boy attacked... No. He couldn't risk a fight. He would need a way to temporarily render him motionless.

"Sai!" Naruto was yelling. "Are you alright?"

Deidara cursed mentally. _'If this goes on much longer, Sai'll wake up, and I don't know how he'll react to seeing the brat again.'_ He needed to think of something, before Sai came out of shock... _'Shock! That's it!' _

Deidara steeled himself, index finger on the little button that would retract the blade. Invisible to Naruto, Deidara shifted the blade just a tiny bit. Sai's heartbeat pulsed underneath his pinky finger, faint but steady. One slip up and that comforting beat would be gone forever.

Deidara's outside grin widened, his eyes never leaving Naruto's as he pushed the button. The knife's blade retreated into the handle in a flash. In one movement, Deidara removed the knife and pushed Sai to the ground, letting his body fall face-first onto the stone. There it lay, absolutely still.

* * *

Alright, I've gotten back into the swing of things! While my computer sat forlornly in an empty room miles away, I sat outside on the rental house's driveway and wrote out this chapter with pencil and paper. 'Tis only thanks to you dedicated reviewers that I had enough heart to do that!

So I thank you :) I'm getting the feeling that there's too much angst in this story, so I'm trying to include a little bit more fluffy scenes. The end of this arc and the next one will have a good deal of those, so those who crave friendly fluff will get their share! But unfortunately the arc after _that_ (Yes, I have a lot of arcs planned out) will have barely, if any, happiness at all :/

However, the eventual writing/publishing of these arcs depends on you all!


	9. Bonds of Friendship: Part Four

Some bad news behind these relatively quick updates... I'm only doing these so fast is because on July 18th, I'm going to a sleepaway camp in Utah (Yes, America! :D) for three entire weeks. One update was awaited a good deal longer, but I thought this time I'd give warning. This being said- enjoy! I do hope I get this fight scene right and entirely believable, because it's quite difficult.

**Bonds of Friendship: Part Four:**

**Saving Him**

* * *

_Thump. _That was all that could be heard as Sai's body hit the ground. Naruto watched in stunned disbelief as he fell, and remained blank for a long moment.

Deidara moved quickly while he was in shock. He snatched up a clay bird from his pouch and tossed it into the air, where it grew larger and hovered at the ready.

_'Whew... there's no way I could have dealt with Sai's depression if Naruto knew that he was working with the Akatsuki now. It'd be horrible.' _Deidara shuddered, imagining having forever the silent and moody Sai that he had gotten for a day after that incident on their first mission.

However, before he could pick up Sai and fly away a blast of wind pushed him a few steps back. Looking up, he saw the Jinchuuriki had fallen to a crouch, glaring at him with reddened eyes. A gutteral snarl was ripped from his mouth, revealing pointed teeth. Beginning to form around him was a sort of cloak of evil-looking red chakra.

"No..." Deidara whispered, horrified. He had seen this happen once before, with disastrous results. One tail appeared behind Naruto appeared. The chakra cloak had completely enveloped him now. With another snarl, he leaped forward. Deidara was surprised by his speed; he hadn't expected him to be faster on all fours than on two legs. He was more like a beast than a shinobi. Stumbling backwards, Deidara could only barely duck under a strike to his head that sheared off a few strands of flyaway hair. The next strike he was not so lucky; a clawed hand whipped around and scored three long marks across his face, too shallow to injure his right eye but still a bother. Blinking away blood, Deidara let out a loud curse and executed a neat backflip.

"You...!" Naruto didn't speak any further. His actions spoke for him. Deidara tried to leap back again, but the chakra cloud bubbling around Naruto darted out and seized him by the right ankle, whipping him around and throwiing him against the ground. Deidara's eyes went wide with the impact and he struggled to get free. It released him, just when Naruto was diving in for another attack.

_'This is insane!' _Deidara's mind screamed at him. _'It's like the damn thing has a mind of its own, mm! I can predict where the brat's trying to strike, but this... this _thing _around him is unreadable!' _He tossed out a succession of little clay spiders, which exploded in the air around Naruto. The boy let out a furious cry, more anger than pain. Drawing backwards for a moment, eyes always fixed on Deidara's, he seemed to get ready for another attack. Deidara tensed, preparing himself...

Then another tail appeared next to the first.

"Oh, hell no!" Deidara yelled, but had no time for anything else. Some of that accursed red chakra came lashing out like a whip. He found that he could counter it with a kunai, and was slowly forced back, back torward where Sai lay. Thinking quickly, Deidara discarded the kunai, mouth on his palm coughing out some now chakra-infused clay. He moulded it while trying to dodge as best as he could. Sweat rolled down his face. That cloud of death around his opponent seemed to shield him to insane lengths from most attacks. He would need to get under it, somehow.

And if this didn't work, then he would just have to tough it out and hope his opponent tired before he. Deidara bit his lip, bending down just long enough for the little crickets he had created to skitter onto the rock. There was a distinct whirling noise. He had heard that noise before. Wind was swiftly gathering in the palm of Naruto's hand, forming a glowing ball of air. The blonde straightened, getting ready to dodge- and found he couldnt move. Tendrils of chakra had wrapped themselves around his legs and good arm and held him in place. Helpless, Deidara could only was as Naruto bounded closer and closer, closing the gap between them in half a second, then he was in the air. The Rasengan was poised to strike.

"Katsu!" Deidara cried. Naruto's expression was unchanged, yet for an instant the terrifying chakra around him seemed to freeze, an almost doubting air about it. Then there was a gigantic explosion. Deidara was hit as well, blown backwards by the force of it, but a delirious grin graced his face even as searing pain shot through his broken arm.

_'Now THAT's art, mm!'_ He thought happily. The crickets had done their work. While Deidara kept all attention focused on himself, the critters had climbed up onto Naruto and hid from the demon fox's aura within the pockets of his jumpsuit. He took a step backwards and tripped over something. Deidara was about to stomp angrily on whatever had tripped him until he noticed that he had tripped over Sai. Immediately forgetting about being in the vicinity of a raging Jinchuuriki, he dropped to his knees and placed one hand on his wrist, feeling for a pulse.

He gave a sigh of relief. It was still there. He had to end this battle as soon as possible. He stood up, the smoke from his blast finally clearing, and immediately clapped his hand to his ear, but unfortunately could not cover his other one. A deafening roar split the air, blowing his hair backwards with the sheer force of it. Deidara gingerly removed his hand and squared off against Naruto. His skin tingled unpleasantly, like the very air was stinging him.

"What the hell's this?" He muttered, flexing his fingers, but the sensation remained. "Some new power of his?" Then it hit him. "Don't tell me..." Naruto roared again, all of the blue fading from his eyes. The chakra cloak around him writhed like a living creature, changing itself yet again. The intangible red ears of it on Naruto's head grew longer, while the whisker patterns on his face became a dark black. Eagerly making its way into the world, a _third_ tail grew to join its fellows. Deidara bared his teeth in a frustrated snarl, looking for a moment as beastlike as the boy. He didn't realize the full extent of this transformation, however. The third-tailed form was three times as powerful as the second.

"Come and get me then, if you can!" Deidara taunted. His explosions had done their work; Naruto moved a little stiffly as he jumped into the air, all self-restraint gone. This time Deidara was more wary and avoided the Rasengan that blasted a crater in the rock a second later. He executed a neat backwards roll, feeling very pleased with himself for the move.

_'Hah, this Jinchuuriki's a joke! Three tails, and I can avoid his attacks like-' _"Whoa!" Deidara cried as his foot slipped. Teetering on the edge with only one arm to balance himself, he began to fall into the deep waters of the swimming hole. Yet as he fell, he noticed Naruto acting strangely. He was crouching once more, mouth wide open. Then as he roared, a huge ball of pure energy shot out like from a cannon.

* * *

Kakashi idly poked the fire with an extra branch. The flames crackled as their fuel was nudged, sending a new round of sparks into the air.

"Does Naruto even know where the river is?" Sakura asked, tapping her foot impatiently. "It's taking him forever to get water."

"He knows." Kakashi said simply, dusting some dirt off of his pants. _'Why am I getting such a bad feeling about this...?' _

* * *

Deidara sank into the water, frantically trying to swim as far down as possible. Even then, he felt the surge. His ponytail was saved due the off-angle of the energy beam, but as he tumbled around and around in the raging water the energy beam completely incinirated the back of his cloak and shirt, taking a good deal of skin with it as well. Then he sank deeper, and escaped the roar. He coughed, little bubbles of precious air floating upwards. Black spots began to appear in his vision as he strived not to float upwards into that deadly beam. Finally it dissapeared, and he shot to the surface, gasping for air.

He got air, and more besides. There was a woosh of wind, and Deidara looked up to see Naruto hovering above him, the red chakra cloak making two ungainly wings. Swooping down, he grabbed Deidara by the scruff of his neck and whirled him around like a rag doll, hurling him back onto dry land. Yet it appeared that he had trouble keeping up the form of flight, and struggled to land before his wings gave out. The chakra retreated back into its usual form, with tendrils hovering at the ready. Deidara painstakingly staggered to his feet, wiping blood off of his face with one dirty sleeve. The sling had come undone in the water, and his broken arm now swung uselessly at his side.

The battle began to go downhill from there. Deidara's movements were slowing, and more and more times he was on the recieving end of the Jinchuuriki's slashes and not able to get out of the way in time. Frantically he searched for something- _anything _that would turn the tide of battle.

There! A gleaming blade, lying discarded on the ground near where Sai lay. The top half of it looked as it were cut off. Deidara recognized it as Sai's tantō, and managing to dodge a particularly fast swipe, unbalancing Naruto, he whipped around and made a desperate dash for the blade. He picked it up and blindly swung around, knowing that Naruto was almost upon him-

The blade his flesh. Startled that he had actually hit, Deidara opened his eyes. Naruto was frozen in mid-leap, clawed hands outstretched. The tantō was pressed against his neck. The only reason it hadn't killed him already was because of the chakra cloak. Yet now the Nine-Tail's aura did not dare to move, knowing that as soon as it did then Deidara could so easily swipe the blade and put an end to it all.

Deidara's throat was dry. He gulped, staring into those staring, wild red eyes. Even in his compromising position, Naruto never ceased growling. He was like a mad dog that had a gun pointed at him, and at this point Deidara wasn't sure if he would act like one as well and ignore the threat to his life. If he let the brat live and backed away, then he would surely die. He was in no shape to continue the fight any longer. Yet... His fingers tightened around the handle of the tantō. Sai's tantō. If he killed Naruto now, how would his friend feel when he found out?

_'Damnit!' _Deidara was an at impasse. _'Sai, I don't know how the fuck you're making me do this, but... it's your call, mm.' _Gathering up his courage, he loosened his hold on the blade, then let the handle slip through his fingers.

The tantō hit the ground. Naruto struck. Deidara was thrown backwards by the force of it as four claws tore through the remains of his wet shirt. He skidded across the river-rock and rolled to a stop. With trembling hands, he attempted to get up.

"Heh, you've some friend, brat." Deidara rasped. Naruto's ears pricked and his growling increasing in volume. "Once you're done killing me, I bet it'll be too late by then to save him. Not from us... from himself..." His voice trailed off and he slumped to the ground. Naruto wavered uncertainly for a second. However, the Nine-Tails was insistent, and hungry for control. His growls came back, louder than ever, and the shade of red in the chakra deepened. The cloak elongated, forming much more visible claws. It was only a matter of seconds before the fourth tail grew, and he lost control completely.

Then out of the corner of his eye, Naruto saw a movement. It wasn't from Deidara. Snarling, he whipped around- and saw Sai rising to his feet. He looked dazed, and still in pain from his burns, but apart from that completely fine. Completely _alive_. Naruto's eyes shot to his throat. There was no blood there.

"S...Sai?" He whispered. The chakra enveloping him began to dissapear, and he fell to his knees. Eyes widening, Sai ran to him.

"Naruto!"

"What? You were dead!" Was all Naruto managed to say. There was a faint hint of puzzlement on Sai's otherwise expressionless face, and then his friend shook his head. "Then... Never mind, let's get out of here! I-"

"Naruto." Sai's voice was quiet. Naruto immediately fell silent. There was something in Sai's tone of voice that he had never heard before, a gentle firmness, but underneath that, a sadness born of longing. "I can't go back."

Naruto was in disbelief. He clenched his fists, still-present claws digging into his skin. "Why not? You're safe now! Safe, Sai! We can go back to the village now, and go have ramen, and go bother Sakura, and go on missions together, and-"

"No, we can't." Sai sounded tired. He held up his hands, exposing his painted nails. "I'm a puppet of the Akatsuki now, Naruto. If I went to Konohagakure with you, I'd be a liability."

"You've _joined_the Akatsuki?" The disgust on Naruto's face was painful to see. Sai felt an unfamiliar emotion rising inside him, and before he knew it a retort had slipped out of his mouth.

"Do you think I had a choice?" Naruto was taken aback by the sharpness of the words. Sai never got frustrated or angry, but then what was he hearing now? "Do you think I would want to fight against those I call my friends, my comrades, my family?" Abruptly the fierce glint in his eyes vanished, and he bowed his head. "Do you know how many times I tried to break free? It's impossible for me to do it alone."

Unnoticed by either of them, Deidara had crawled over to the patiently waiting clay bird and hoisted himself up onto it.

"Then we can help you!" Naruto cried. "I'm not about to lose another friend. Not here, not now, not ever." He said savagely. "Escape with me, and we'll find a way to break you free."

"There's already a spy in the village that you have to worry about, though I do not know his name." Sai replied. "I cannot simply run away with you. There's only one way to help." He paused, struggling with himself for a minute, then continued. "You have to kill me now. That's the only way I'll be free, and Konoha will be safe."

"You can't be serious..." Naturo whispered, but the answer was clear in Sai's eyes. Those were the calm, unsettling eyes of someone prepared to die.

_'I'm sorry, Deidara, but it looks like you'll have to get a new partner after all.'_ Sai thought regretfully. _'I really wish I could stay... I don't want to leave you alone. But this is for the greater good. You'll see, in the end.' _

"Naruto, just do it." Sai insisted. "You have enough strength yet to make it quick. Think of the village. Think of-" He broke off with a startled cry. Huge white claws seized him, encircling his body and lifting him into the air.

"Sai!" Naruto yelled. Swiftly his friend was borne away from him by Deidara's clay bird. He tried to get up, but the strain was too great and he fell back down, exhausted by his transformations. "SAI!" The river's roar drowned out his cries as the clay bird flew further and further away, vanishing into the distance.

* * *

So there we go! I was trying to put Deidara more into character, since we all know how hot-headed he is, and how much pride he has in his art. The fight with Tailed Naruto probably wasn't very believeable (I mean, seriously- _Orochimaru_ had some trouble fighting Tailed Naruto, though admittedly it was mostly his out of control four-tailed form that he was worried about), but hopefully acceptable.

As to the update rate, I'm having quite a lot of trouble with internet connection, but I'm writing like a speed demon, so look forward to at least one more update before the mandatory three-week wait :)

One more thing. You've heard that spy in the Konoha village mentioned twice now... Be prepared for their upcoming unveiling!


	10. Bonds of Friendship: Part Five

Without further ado (Though there was none), I present...

**Bonds of Friendship, Part Five: **

**A True Artist, a True Friend**

* * *

Deidara stirred awake, recovering from unconsciousness for the second time in two days. Except now there were many more bandages circling his form, and he couldn't move without inciting a wave of fiery pain. He became aware that he was lying on a soft blanket, with hard rock underneath, above him a rock ceiling. _'I'm in a cave?' _He wondered. Rain drummed on ground somewhere outside. Gritting his teeth, he braced his palm against the ground and sat up. His bad arm was bound once again.

The flickering light of a small fire gave a little light to the cave's darkness. Sai was sitting nearby, an orange glow upon his face as he stared into the flames. His knees were drawn up against his chest, the once-severe burns present on his skin now well on their way to healing. He turned his head as he heard Deidara get up.

"Oh." Sai said simply. His face was expressionless. "You're awake."

Deidara bit his lip nervously, unsure of how to respond. Thunder boomed, somewhere in the distance. He had always loved thunder. So explosive. So artistic. Yet now he hardly paid it a thought.

"You lost quite a lot of blood." Sai was saying tonelessly. "I stopped it bleeding, at least. While flying away you lost consciousness and I had to free myself and take control of the bird. As far as I know we weren't pursued."

Deidara's fist clenched and unclenched, over and over. He worked his jaw, but did not form words to speak with. Lightning flashed, making the cave look like some carefree artist had thrown white paint over everything for a moment, then everything was dim again. The thunder boomed once more, closer this time.

"What I'm only worried about is your broken arm, seeing as both your arms were reattached by Kakuzu using a different person's elbow area for a filler. I set it as best as I could, and by now it should be fine, but please watch it for a while." He didn't sound worried at all. In fact, he didn't sound like anything. Yet what really ticked Deidara off was the little, entirely fake smile that Sai gave when he was talking.

"So you really meant for him to kill you, mm." The man said quietly.

Sai didn't answer. He looked down at his hands.

"You know, Sai... you had me fooled for a while, there. I admit it." Deidara kept talking, his voice low and dangerous. "Despite everything you still went and asked for the Jinchuuriki to kill you. I suppose... I should have expected it, mm. It's not like you ever wanted to be part of us, after all, right? And yet I still tried to save you from the fury of the village!" He paused for breath. "After all, that's what friends do for each other! Perhaps I wasn't ever your friend. But for a short while, Sai... I considered you to be mine. Now I can see it was an act, mm." His voice became angry again. "Your act was so fucking real I completely fell for it!"

Sai was speechless. "Deidara..."

"Don't say anything." The man growled. "If you really want to die, then go ahead and do it, mm. Somewhere far away from me, far away and out of my sight. I don't want to see... I don't want to..." His voice wavered, and ashamed he bowed his head. "I don't want to see a friend die again!"

"Wouldn't you die for the sake of your comrades?" Sai asked quietly.

A bitter smile appeared on Deidara's face and he looked up, meeting Sai's eyes. "Aren't I your comrade?"

Sai stared at him for a long while, face unreadable. Finally the mask broke, and his eyes dulled. To all appearances, he looked defeated.

"You are." He whispered. "And you're right. Deidara, I'll stay. I'm going to stay here as your partner, as your friend-" Sai reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. "And live."

* * *

"Kakashi-sensei..." Naruto's voice trailed off. He had already delivered the news, after Sakura had gotten to work healing him. "There's something I just remembered."

His sensei looked up from where he had been sitting against a tree, head down and wet hair dangling in front of his face as he thought.

"What is it, Naruto?" Kakashi asked. His single eye's gaze was piercing and probing at the same time.

"Sai said something weird... he said that there was a spy in the village. A spy for the Akatsuki. They way he said it, I think they're just like him- unable to get free of control. Is there anyone that acts kinda strange?"

Kakashi frowned, though he knew that Naruto could not see it through his mask. "No... not that I know of..." He lapsed into a thoughtful silence. This was indeed worrying. No wonder that the Akatsuki knew some things they shouldn't have. Depending upon this spy's rank, a great deal of precious information could be lost.

* * *

A large bird's shadow glided across the desolate lands, growing larger and larger as the bird got lower and lower. For a moment its great white and black shape was outlined against the sun, highlighting what appeared to be two people riding on its back. Then it was once more in the open blue skies. The bird tilted its wings, soaring to the right. The beady, inky-black eyes were fixed upon a small plateau. It didn't look any different from the rest of the scenery apart from maybe being a nice flat area to land.

The two riders' hair streamed backwards in the wind, blonde and black. One of them was standing comfortably upon neatly drawn feathers, the other one was crouching with a hint of doubt in their eyes. As the hawk got lower, Deidara got shakily to his feet. The footing on this bird was different than on his clay creations- this avian was much more realistic, still too solid and hard for a normal bird but soft enough that his feet sank slightly and there were occasional feathers to tickle his ankles. Sai dropped down beside him, taking hold of some feathers.

"Hang on!" He shouted. Deidara immediately dropped down as well and took a handful of ink bird. One of Sai's hands let go and grabbed his sleeve to make doubly sure. The bird swooped down dangerously fast, doing an exhilarating few loops in the air before alighting on the plateau.

Sai let out a chuckle at Deidara's expression. He helped his partner down. Once they were both off, the bird dissapated into a bubble of ink that flew in a gleaming stream through the air, vanishing into its container.

"Did you enjoy the ride?" He asked.

"Eh..." Deidara shook his head, trying to stop his world from spinning. "I guess we should start getting used to each other's birds more- ouch!" He winced, as he took too deep of a breath. His ribs were still complaining about the harsh treatment they had recieved earlier.

"Flying like that so soon was probably a bad idea." Sai realized. "I'm sorry, Deidara. Does it hurt really badly?"

"No, not badly at all!" Deidara lied. He wanted to keep this Sai, this laughing, cheerful one for as long as possible. "I gotta say, your bird is much more of a softer ride than mine, mm. But my art's still ten times better!"

"Of course." Sai was happy again. "Thank you, Deidara."

The blonde looked at him oddly. "For what?"

"For making me feel like life's worth living again." Sai replied. Deidara laughed.

"You say it so matter-of factly! You and I need to get to work on getting you to show emotion more often." Deidara's gaze fell to the ground. "Now, where was that blasted trapdoor?"

"All you need to do is this." Sai shrugged, and formed a few strange-looking hand seals. His Akatsuki ring glowed briefly then faded, and about three feet to their right the hidden trapdoor opened. Two small orange rocks perching on it rolled off, sending dust into the air. "Let's go inside. It's getting hotter now that the sun's higher. Do you need help getting down?"

"No, it's a nice ramp, not a ladder here." Deidara answered. "Thanks, mm."

"No problem." Sai followed him down into the dimly lit passage. The trapdoor closed off behind them with barely a sound. "Do you think anyone's using this hideout?"

"Nah. This one's rather small. The main one's a little further north. Hey, we _could_ head over there if you want to." Deidara offered. "I think I can make it for another flight."

"Actually, I'd prefer that you just take a short rest in this one before we head back." Sai declined to give his real reason for procrastinating; Raidan was sure to be in the main Akatsuki's hideout. Going back there would mean he'd have to be on his guard again, perpetually fending off nasty comments and occasional strikes. He looked at Deidara's smiling face, listened to his casual chatter, and knew there was no way he could tell his friend about what was going on. Pein was powerful indeed, but he couldn't control what Raidan did to his puppets.

_'I tell Deidara, Deidara tells Pein-sama... no. Deidara's not the kind of person who would run to someone more powerful than him like a dog to its master. He wouldn't be able to put aside his pride for that long, if at all. He'd fight Raidan, probably- no, definitely win. Raidan would work on revenge. They'd keep fighting. Things would heat up between them. Raidan might really hurt Deidara... he might even try to take over him. No. I can't allow that. I cannot allow a... a friend to be as unfortunate as I.'_

They turned into a small apartment-like room, leaving the door hanging ajar.

Deidara fairly collapsed onto the bed, not even bothering to pull up the sheets. Sai sat down on a stool next to his bed, watching his face intently. After a few minutes, Deidara's face scrunched up in pain, grimacing in his sleep. He had to be feeling the fight now. Sai's eyes flicked to the blankets. After another minute he reached out and drew the blankets up to cover Deidara better. He wondered who the healer in Akatsuki was. There probably were extremely few, if any times where one of the S-Class criminals needed medical attention.

Come to think of it, he _had_ learned some medical ninjutsu during his childhood years in Root. The mission always came first, but not always could a mission be completed with injured comrades, or by just one shinobi.

Sai rolled down the blankets again and tapped Deidara on the shoulder. The heavily made-up blue eyes opened, looking at him blearily.

"Wha?" Deidara mumbled.

"Can you sit up for a moment, please? I'm going to try and heal you as best as I can." Sai stated, reaching forward.

Deidara shrank back and eyed him distrustfully, one hand on his bandaged ribs. Sai noted with quiet dismay that from the simple motion of sitting up the white cloth was already becoming red again.

"Er... can you even heal?" The Akatsuki member asked, curiosity evident. "Since when were you a medical nin, mm? I thought you were an artist!"

"A true artist is proficient in many things." Sai replied. Deidara's eyes widened slightly, and then he looked away. The hand slowly dropped down to his side. Sai regarded the new expression. He wasn't so good at reading people yet, but he could have sworn on his life that Deidara looked ashamed. "Deidara? Is something the matter?"

"Ah... no, it's nothing." He muttered. "Just get on with it."

"Alright." Sai took ahold of the neat white tie on Deidara's shoulder and undid it, slowly unrapping the bandages. Deidara let out a hiss of pain as the last layer was taken away, exposing his wounds to the cool underground air. This done, he lay back down, gripping the edges of the bed with his palms, the mouths on them nervously chewing the edges of the mattress. Sai took a deep breath and exhaled, then put his hands palm-out on his chest. A soft green glow appeared around his hands, making a little swirling cloud of sea-green chakra. Deidara strained his neck to try and see what was going on, but a glance from Sai made him sheepishly put his head back down. Still, he could feel what was going on. It didn't _hurt_, exactly. His flesh was slowly being repaired, knitted back together... it was a soothing feeling, like many little hands were stroking the torn muscle instead of pulling it. Even the scratches of his face began receding.

Deidara was so focused on his healing body, so elated, that he failed to notice the toll it took on the one casting the jutsu. The green cloud faded. Deidara sat up, still feeling incredibly sore. The clawmarks were still present, but they had stopped bleeding, and looked a good deal less serious. He turned with a wide smile to Sai.

"Hey, Sai-" He broke off in the middle of his sentence, and then spoke again, much quieter now. "Sai?"

Sai looked up and gave him a smile. "Ah... I couldn't seem to heal everything..." His breath came in gasps, and sweat still beaded his face from the sheer effort of what he had just done. "Sorry, Deidara... I'm not very good at medical n- ninjutsu just yet, 'n it looks like... wounds given by a Jinchuuriki are slow to heal."

Deidara shook his head vehemently. "I don't care. This is great, Sai, my man. Don't try to apologize, 'cause you're a true artist, mm." Abruptly his mood dropped and he fell back down onto the soft and springy mattress, pulling the blankets up around him. He shut his eyes, more to avoid seeing Sai's face than to get any rest. "I'm going to sleep, mm." He announced sourly.

For a long couple of minutes there was silence, then a barely audible chuckle. Deidara caught it and rolled over, glaring at Sai.

"What, mm?" He demanded.

"Nothing." Sai answered innocently. "It's just amusing seeing you worry yourself so, over something so st- so foolish."

"Worry myself?" Deidara sounded indignant. "Us Akatsuki never worry. We're always cool and collected, yeah."

"Maybe so." Sai got up to leave. "Then again, Deidara, you _were_ the one who taught me how to _stop _being so 'cool and collected'. At least, working with you I'm able loosen up for a while. In a few months you undid the knots that Lord Danzo had spent years creating. If you put your mind to it, you could teach a fish to fly. That's a far more valuable skill than anything I have, or ever will. I'll leave you to think on it. But there's only one real artist in this room right now, and that isn't me." Moving silent as a shadow, Sai slipped out of the room and closed the door behind him. Deidara stared up at the ceiling.

He brought his good hand to his face. The palm stuck its tongue out at him, but for once he didn't mind the rude gesture.

"Am I really?" He whispered to himself. "Sai, you bastard... how come you always make me lose my cool? Lose my cool, in exchange for actually being _happy_. What a joke, mm. I was prepared to die right then, for you and your stupid beliefs, your stupid friend. Well, they might be stupid, but those are the same idiotic beliefs that saved my sorry ass once now. Guess I'll just go along with the ride... see where they take me..." He let loose a loud yawn and snuggled deeper into his blankets, content with life just as it was.

* * *

Sai's black eyes were fixed on the flickering flame of the small candle in his own room. He took up residence across from Deidara, wanting some peace and quiet.

So many troubles plagued him. Raidan. The Akatsuki. Naruto. Konoha. Betrayal. And Deidara, always Deidara. It felt wrong admitting that the blonde bomber was one of his problems, but in fact he was, and one of the biggest. It wouldn't be so difficult right now to snatch a kunai and slit his throat, but because of Deidara, it was. Sai had no idea where shinobi went after they died, but he knew that wherever he went Deidara would eventually catch up to him. No matter what he'd have to face off against his own friend. There had to be another way.

No. There was none. Sai sighed, and with the miniscule release of air the dying candle was finally snuffed out.

That did it. Sai grabbed his pillow and blanket, then headed cautiously across to Deidara's room in the pitch-black darkness of a true underground lair. He didn't want to be alone that night. Setting his pillow at the foot of Deidara's bed, he lay down on the cave floor and threw the blanket over himself. A hand dangled above his face. Exasperated, Sai moved one metre to the left into safety and closed his eyes.

Faint memories cropped up in his mind of camping on missions with Shin. Often, the Root members would sleep in trees to be better camoflauged. Shin always took fiendish delight in leaving one hand hanging above his younger comrade's face back then. Deidara took after him even when he was sleeping and totally unaware that Sai was in the same room.

Sai turned onto his side. Sleep came to him that night easier than any night before.

* * *

Thanks to all of your dedicated reviewings, they really brighten one's day!

A side note ~ You might have noticed, might have not, noticed the new chapter 'title'. Seeing as I can only fit so much in the chapter title that fanfiction gives, I wanted to make this a little fancier and give each induvidual chapter a title that fits it best. The 'Part One, Twos, Threes, etc.' seemed very impersonal. I've gone back and given 'titles' to every previous chapter, written at the top of the page in bold.

Heehee, I love putting in these little hints that will pop up much later in the story and wondering if anyone will read that far-in-the-future chapter, think hard, then realize that it was first mentioned in an earlier chapter. Just the thought of where these two will go later on makes me so eager to just keep writing, despite the late hour. Sai was on the right track in telling Deidara what he was really good at. I just can't wait.

I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as- or even more than- I did writing it!


	11. Bonds of Hatred: Part One

Here we start a new and long-awaited arc, in which Raidan finally makes a reappearance; and between him and our favourite duo, new bonds begin to form- the...

**Bonds of Hatred: Part One:**

**Suspicion on all sides**

* * *

It was a bright sunny late July day, but the air in the Hokage's office could not have been colder.

Kakashi fidgeted slightly underneath Tsunade's piercing gaze. He despised getting bad news, but the one thing he hated more was reporting it to his superiors. Those russet-coloured eyes never wavered, never left his masked face. He cleared his throat, then cleared it again.

"Spit it out, Kakashi." Tsunade had finally lost her patience in waiting for the jonin to speak first. Shizune gave the Copy Ninja a sympathetic glance from her standing point by Tsunade's desk. She had been in his position too many times before, as the fiery Hokage's aide.

"Well, this is, you see... of course, it's welcome news, but at the same time it's not. We've recieved news of Sai. More, in fact. Naruto saw him and talked to him."

Kakashi paused. "And?" Tsunade prompted. "I'm not following you. Please continue. You say Naruto met with Sai?"

"Ye-es," Kakashi said slowly, drawing the word out. "How should I explain this? Naruto had just engaged in combat with one of the Akatsuki, Deidara. He had entered into his three-tailed state and was about to go into the fourth before Sai stopped him. Naruto didn't explain it all to me, so I cannot give you any clearer details upon how he helped him regain control and suppress the Nine-tails. Anyways, Sai told Naruto that he could not leave with him or else he would be a danger to the village."

Tsunade's eyebrows shot up high into her bangs. "A danger to our village? Can you- did he elaborate on that?"

"It seems that the Akatsuki are controlling him, somehow." Kakashi's nervousness at facing a possible angry Tsunade lapsed into his usual cool confidence. His manner became that of a messenger who knows that he has nothing good to report, but would follow his duty no matter what. The one visible dark-grey eye's gaze was intense and grim. "They appear to have been using him for a while now. Sai asked for Naruto to kill him, but he was recaptured before any further words could be said. However, during their conversation, Sai divulged some very important information."

Tsunade nodded, thinking deeply. "Go on." Information was one of the most precious things in the ninja, often dearly paid for in blood and life.

"Hokage-sama, we have an informant in our midst."

* * *

Sai breathed a sigh of relief as he closed the door behind him. He had spent extra care making sure he wasn't being followed through the long hallways, and now that he was entirely alone he could just relax. He looked around his room. Everything was just as he had left it. The impeccably neat desk and all the drawings hanging in their frames on the walls were just the same.

Yes. Everything was just as he left it. He closed his eyes for a moment, feeling like he was about to go to sleep right then and there from weariness. It wasn't physical weariness; no, it was his mind that craved rest.

"It's impolite for a host to sleep in front of guests." an amused voice said. Sai's eyes shot open and he jumped to his feet. Raidan had come out of nowhere, in seemed, and was sitting on the perfectly made bed, carelessly mussing the covers up with his left hand. "But I forgive you. That's what brothers are for, right?"

"You're not my brother." Sai said calmly.

Raidan arched an eyebrow, getting up. "I thought you already learned to consider every one of the Akatsuki as brothers?"

Sai tried to read Raidan's mood, but the eyes even blacker than his own were impenetrable, and his smile that was faker than anything Sai could ever hope to form told nothing. However, Sai wasn't stupid. He had gotten to know Raidan all too well, and knew that a polite answer would just make things worse. _'It's not that hard being insulting, at least.' _Sai thought cheerfully. _'That's something I'm used to.' _

"Every one of them, except for you." Sai replied, giving his own fake smile to the man, who took a step closer.

"Then would it make you sad knowing that Hidan and Kakuzu are dead?" Raidan asked, searching Sai's face for any hint of emotion, and relishing the shock that flitted across the pale features.

"Hidan... Kakuzu... They're dead?" Sai muttered, half to himself.

"Yep, Kakuzu dead as a doormat, Hidan just decapitated and buried for all eternity." Raidan kept watching Sai like a hawk. "Surprise surprise! You get on home with your precious Deidara, and come back to this. That's how I felt, too. He might have been an ass, but Hidan was still my brother, my _real _brother, coming from the same old lady as I. And guess who did it? Guess who were the ones that got rid of him?" Sai felt a sick feeling deep in his stomach. He knew the answer before he got it shoved at him along with a fist. He slammed into the door and sank down half its length, making no attempt to fight back.

"Your _team_, that's who!" Raidan snarled. "Your _friends_! That blonde whore, the fat pig, the lazy bastard..." he grabbed Sai by his shirt collar and roughly lifted him to his feet, holding him against the door with just one hand as he continued his rant. "The bubblegum-haired bitch, the blasted jinchuuriki, the silver-haired..." His voice trailed off. "The silver-haired... ahh, yes." Moving slowly and deliberately, he took Sai's chin in his left hand, tilting Sai's head upwards to face him. "That damned silver-haired jonin, the copy-nin Kakashi." Raidan broke off, and stared at Sai for a long moment, a little grin playing about on his face. "You know..." he said craftily. "I've had my eyes set on him for a while now, that teacher of yours."

Sai's eyes widened. "You wouldn't."

"I must admit, my current source in Konoha isn't so high-ranking anymore. He used to rub elbows with the Third Hokage, but now that the old man's dead, he barely gets anything useful for me. Not that he knows what he's doing, of course. I make sure that he has no clue. But if I had the famous Kakashi of the Sharingan, I would know almost everything that goes on in that little homeland of yours, as well as much of the Fifth Hokage's counsel." Raidan raised an eyebrow suggestively. "Now, how about it? Of course, the current one would have to be disposed of first..."

"You'd lose if you tried facing Kakashi-senpai." Sai said calmly, but his mind was shifting through the fair number of people that had been chummy with the Third and not the Fifth. Tsunade was a good deal less open with the people of Konoha than the Sandaime had been, so it wasn't too big of a clue. "I've seen him fight before, and he's not someone to be underestimated."

"Yet did you see _me_ fight?" Raidan retorted, suddenly angry again. "You're acting like I'm some half-assed genin. I have to be able to incapitate the opponent in some way to take over them after that. I just didn't bother going all out on you that one time because you weren't worth it. If I was facing someone for real, when they were at the top of their game... if only you could see what I can really do." To his credit, Sai didn't flinch as the last words were whispered into his ear. "No luck unsettling you, eh? Ah, well." Raidan released him, letting Sai drop to the floor like a rag doll. "You're lucky I'm tired. See ya, kid. I normally would be offering you to Jashin right now in place of those murderers, but Pein would bitch, so I'll pass."

He casually nudged Sai out of the way with a foot and opened the door to leave. Sai remained silent and unresisting; he wanted Raidan gone as fast as possible. The door closed. The room was quiet once more.

* * *

Raidan whistled a cheery tune as he strode confidently down the hallway. Sure, his brother's 'death' upset him, but taking his frusteration out on his favourite puppet helped. He hadn't gone very far when he turned a corner and almost collided with someone going the opposite way.

Scratch that. He _did _collide with someone else. He stumbled a few steps backwards, but sent the unfortunate passer-by off balance and tumbling to the floor. Raidan stared blankly at the young blonde man for a moment before he recovered his wits.

"Hey, Deidara. Sorry. I was caught up in thinking and didn't sense you." he extended a hand, and Deidara took it, allowing himself to be pulled up.

"Thanks. Raidan," he asked, "What are you doing out so late?"

"You're out late yourself." Raidan answered. He ran a critical eye over the fellow Akatsuki and noticed his injuries and broken arm. "Who put you through the factory?"

"That nine-tailed brat..." Deidara grumbled, not meeting his eyes. "Long story, mm. What are you doing down here? I thought your room was in a different wing."

"Eh, just taking a walk." Raidan said nonchanatly. "Don't you have those moments where you need to do _something _to clear out your mind? I know Sasori-san did."

Deidara gave a small start, and any suspicion in his eyes vanished. "You were closer to him than you'd ever admit, huh?"

"No, I simply admired him and his puppets, that's all!" Raidan's voice was modest. "I'm not so much of an artist to be able to carry on conversations with Sasori of the Red Scorpion, which is something very unfortunate." He looked back down the hallway, eyes searching the darkness, before turning back to Deidara. "Listen, I've gotta go. See ya."

"Oh- wait, Raidan." Deidara called after him.

Raidan stopped. "Yeah?"

"I'm sorry about Hidan, mm." The tone was sincere.

Raidan waved a casual hand. "S'alright. He was a lil fucker, anyways. Never did like him."

Deidara gave a small snort of laughter and continued on his way. He turned left at a crossing then headed down a smaller, narrower passage, which had increasingly fewer lit candles. The lit became dimmer, and more than ever he felt the weight of the hundreds of tons of rock above his head. Then at last he reached a nondescript door that was only singled out by a splash of black ink, and opened it.

As soon as he did, there was a slight _woosh _of cloth against stone, made by the sound of someone wearing Akatsuki robes leaping hastily backwards. He blinked.

"Sai?" he questioned. "You look kinda pale. Are you all right, mm?"

Sai stared at him, then straightened from fighting position. "I'm always pale."

Deidara momentarily forgot his concern. "I meant you looked kinda shocked to see me." he said, annoyed.

"It's nothing." Sai brushed him off. "I just mistook you for somebody else. What did you want, Deidara? Are you healing well? Those scratches on your face are barely visible now, and your sling for your arm is looser. I take it you- Deidara?" He didn't like the way his partner was looking at him now.

"Hmm... mistook me for someone else... just taking a walk..." Deidara muttered thoughtfully. "Sai? Was Raidan in here, by any chance?"

"N- no, he wasn't. His room is in a whole different section, Deidara. Why do you ask? Did he say he was in here?"

"Don't try and pull something over me, Sai." Deidara took an angry step forwards, but it was the wrong move. It was barely perceptible, but by now he knew the boy very well to see and more importantly, understand every little movement he made. Sai had flinched away from him slightly as he advanced, and Deidara stopped in his tracks. "Something's going on here. He _was_ in this room, mm. And when I walked in... are you afraid of him?"

Sai didn't answer.

"What did he do to you?" Deidara pressed, then realized something else. _'All this time, damnit, why didn't I see?' _"Nevermind that- what has he been doing, all this time?"

"Don't worry yourself over it, Deidara." Sai's voice was perfectly normal. Too normal, too casual. "You're jumping to bad conclusions. I simply tried to form a friendship with Raidan-san, as he works by himself all of the time. He comes to visit me often. Does my being friends with him bother you?"

"Yes, if he's hurting you in any way, mm!" Deidara could not drop his anger, not yet.

"He isn't." The reply was short and to the point. Deidara felt at a loss as Sai gave him a smile. "Please, take a seat. I want to show you what ideas I drew out so far for collaboration jutsus. We _are_ partners, aren't we? Maybe we should take a leaf out of Hidan and Kakuzu's book, and work on a jutsu that requires cooperation and coordination." He went to his dresser, and picked up a drawing board that was leaning against it, setting it up. The pencil drawings he had done on the paper were magnificent; detailed, informative, and accurate. As enemies he had drawn some nondescript little shinobi from an unidentified village.

Deidara hardly listened to him as he spoke. His eyes were attentive upon Sai's face, not the diagrams, but he wasn't sure what emotion he was searching for, but if it was nothing at all he was doing extremely well.

* * *

Two animal-masked shinobi appeared on the metal bridge. The old man with the heavily bandaged face that appeared to have been waiting for them gave a satisfied nod.

"Good, good." Danzō complimented them. "Your Body Flicker technique was masterful. Now, report. You must have something; you two are my most valuable information-gatherers." The unspoken meaning did not have to be said; the way it hung in the air made things blaringly obvious. If the two Root spies did not have anything to report, their status as 'valuable' would decrease. Fall far enough, and valuable would become useless.

"Yes, sir." The Foundation member on the left said from where he kneeled. "Hokage-sama recieved news of our lost member. He has indeed been taken captive by the Akatsuki, but it appears that they are using him to their own ends, and not for information."

"Ah?" Danzō sounded interested. "His curse seal should still be intact, so that is something we do not have to worry about. But the fact that they are using him as a weapon is... regrettable." he leaned upon his walking stick, thinking.

His subordinates remained silent. They knew what was coming. If they had been ordinary shinobi, they would have felt remorse. But instead, they just knew and waited for the orders.

"He has too great of a store of knowledge about the doings in Konoha. Eliminate that threat, for the good of the village, using whatever chance you get." Danzō ordered after several minutes of expectant silence.

"Yes, Danzō-sama." the Root duo said in silence, and departed as quickly as they had come.

* * *

Naruto was certainly depressed over the recent revelation, but he wasn't the only one. A certain teacher with an odd scar across the bridge of his nose heaved a huge sigh as the last student ran out of the classroom for the day. A sense of permanent gloom hung about Iruka as he packed up his things. Dark shadows under his eyes indicated many sleepless nights spent worrying, worrying- worrying that he was going crazy. He slung his bag over his shoulder and walked out of the room, dragging his feet.

"Hey! Iruka-kun!" a voice shouted. Iruka didn't even bother to turn as Kotetsu ran up to him, bandage, spiky black hair, and all. Kotetsu clapped a hand on his back, his voice cheerful and teasing. "You're looking kinda down. Mid-life crisis? Hmm, I understand."

"Ye- _Mid-life crisis_? Kotetsu! I'm only twenty-three! How can I be having a mid-life crisis?"

"Haha, relax, sensei_._ I was joking around with you. You're so easy to fire up, you know. But really, what's the deal? The kids bothering you?"

"Eh, yeah, that's right." Iruka lied. He eventually managed to shake off Kotetsu with a little help from his partner Izumo, who called the chunin over for some training. Iruka wandered aimlessly through the streets of Konoha, before he had a sudden impulse to go talk to Kakashi.

_'What the hell?'_ He wondered at himself. _'Why would I want to talk to Kakashi?' _He thought for a moment, yet the feeling did not go away. He _had _to go. _'I guess I'm just worried about Naruto.'_ He decided, nodding. _'Kakashi can tell me what's bothering him now.' _Iruka made it another five steps before he stopped yet again.

"Oh, no..." He groaned aloud. "It always happen like this! I feel like I need to go do something really important, then I never remember whether I get it done or not. Geez..." Then he spotted a silver-haired head among the daily crowds. Mind made up and eyes curiously blank, Iruka ran forwards. "Oi! Kakashi... what's the news?"

* * *

I'm really sorry to leave you like this, but at least some things got done. I set several different events in motion that I'll need to all somehow intertwine later on, jotted down some notes for future chapters, and packed my bags. I hope you liked this chapter!


	12. Bonds of Hatred: Part Two

I'm back! I had a great time in Utah, and thought of many new chapters for this story =) So that's over with. Here we go!

**Bonds of Hatred: Part Two:**

**Threat Discovered**

* * *

The setting sun bathed everything in a faint orange light. It sparkled on the river waters, emitting little points of light with every ripple. The river flowed slowly, as if it wasn't in any hurry to go anywhere. No evening winds blew in the warm air, allowing thin wispy cirrus clouds to float in the atmosphere. They, too, caught the light; the clouds made a gentle contrast against the darkening blue sky. Two shinobi rested next to a willow tree, right near the river's edge. Sai leaned with his back against Deidara's, colouring in the sunset. Deidara sat with his arms crossed in front of him, a long piece of grass sticking out of his mouth. Both of them had discarded their cloaks due to the warmth, dressed in simple black day-to-day shorts and t-shirts. Still-drying hair and damp clothes attributed to a recent swim.

"How's your drawing going, Sai?" Deidara asked sleepily, absentmindedly fiddling with a piece of clay.

"Quite well." Sai answered. The conversation ended at that, and they lapsed into a companionable silence. After around ten long minutes Sai spoke again. "You did good today."

"Thanks. Your getting better at responding to my changes in attack style, too, mm." Deidara replied.

"Really?" Sai took some artistic lisence and added different colours to the sunset.

"Yeah." Deidara murmured. He closed his eyes and allowed himself a satisfying arm stretch before settling back down, a peaceful smile on his face. "Y'know, this ain't all that bad." A butterfly, making its way over to a daisy nearby Deidara, paused for a moment in midair. Making up its mind it alighted on top of the blonde's head. The clay in his hands slowly took on the shape of the butterfly accompanying him. They each continued with their respective artwork until at last Sai tapped Deidara on the shoulder.

"Look." Sai said simply. Deidara turned around, and looked over Sai's shoulder at the completed drawing. It was obviously them, sitting back to back. The only difference was that the sunset was changed to a sunrise, its oranges made lighter, the soft pinks and yellows merging smoother with the blue of morning. Dawn. Daybreak. Deidara's eyes widened slightly. Akatsuki... Akatsuki translated meant dawn. Had Sai done this on purpose? No. One look at Sai's face and Deidara knew he hadn't.

_'Dammit... must there always be some sort of reminder of the fact that we're always being overshadowed by the Akatsuki? I feel like it's holding the both of us down, this... this... ah, bullshit. You don't care, Dei. It doesn't matter, not now.' _

"Don't you like it?" Sai asked, slightly anxiously. "I'm..." he looked down. "I _have_ been thinking about what you said a week ago. And I've really decided to give this another try. A new dawn, of sorts. I'm sorry if-"

"Don't be." Deidara interrupted. "I really do like it, mm. It's some piece of work." He smiled at Sai. "Thanks."

From the shadow of the woods, a silent watcher turned away. His footsteps were noiseless upon the pine needles. Raidan's nails dug into his palm as he clenched his fists. Little drops of blood welled up and dripped down his fingers, but he didn't care. What the man had seen was far more troubling to him than a little life liquid. It was Deidara's fault. It was that dumb blonde's fault that his least favourite puppet was beginning to feel at home, beginning to feel like life was worth living. Just the thought of Sai smiling with actual happiness made him snarl.

_'It's not fair!'_ He thought mutinously. _'Why does he get to be happy when I'm not? How can he accept things now? NO! I can't take it anymore! Screw Pein's orders- I'll do whatever it takes to wipe that damned smile off his face and crush all of his masks, then his face, then his mind!'_

* * *

"Hmm..." Iruka mumbled quietly to himself. Moonlight shone down upon his sleeping face through a netting of summer-greened leaves. Cicadas and crickets droned on and on in the background, accompanied by the occasional hoot of an owl. Panicked by one of the night hunter's noises, a grey mouse ran across Iruka's stretched out legs and vanished into the bushes. The chunin's nose twitched and his eyelids flickered open. Sitting up he gave a huge yawn, then for the first time noticed his surroundings. There was a moment of silence. A nightly breeze fanned his face, a little lock of dangling brown hair lifting with the gentle rush of air.

Then he clapped a hand to his face and groaned. "This again!" _'First I remember getting up to close the window. Then somehow I was jumping out of the window. Walking... Ah, it's too much trouble to remember!' _He put his hands to his head. _'Damnit, why can't I remember? I'm going crazy!' _

"Iruka?" Came a very familiar voice. Iruka whipped around, only to see a certain silver-haired jonin emerging from the forest.

"Kakashi?" Iruka was confused. "What do you want?"

"I was, ah, taking an evening stroll around Konoha. Then I see you still half-asleep jumping out of your window."

"So you followed me." It was a statement, not a question. Iruka wasn't sure how he should feel about being followed by his friend, even if it was only out of concern.

The one visible grey eye was probing his face, his expression. "This must be a very nice place for a nap to have climbed Konoha's walls for."

Sudden realization of what he must have done to get outside the village past curfew hit Iruka like a bomb. "I climbed the walls?"

"And avoided the night watch, too." Kakashi sighed. "Tell me, Iruka... how was she?"

It took a moment for the brown-haired chunin to figure out what Kakashi was talking about. His cheeks turned beet red. "_Kakashi!_"

"Was she older? Younger? Probably older, seeing as you're so innocent and easy to take advantage of..." The grey eye was crinkled in a smile shape.

"I- I don't know what you're talking about." Iruka stammered. He took a step backwards; tripped over a tuft of grass and landed harshly on his back. Kakashi knelt by him with his hands on his knees, too close for comfort.

"Don't be like that, _sensei. _Now, what did you teach her? Or was the teacher taught?" Kakashi lapsed into a chuckle at his own provacative jokes. Iruka got up rather haughtily and brushed himself off. His suspicions were confirmed; his friend had been reading far too much _Icha Icha_ novels for his own good.

"I can swear this to you, Kakashi, that I _did not _by any means meet a girl here. And before you can say it, neither did I meet a guy." He paused uncertainly. "Actually, I'm pretty sure that I didn't meet anyone. I don't remember anything past climbing out of my window."

All of the humour was gone from Kakashi's face, and he was expressionless once more. He would have seemed distinctly casual to the typical observer, but Iruka had known him too long to not hear the hint of seriousness in his voice.

"I took the liberty of scouting around you before you woke up. There were some footprints in a mud patch nearby that aren't from Konoha-commissioned boots." Kakashi said levelly. "It does appear that while you might not have met anyone, someone visited you for sure."

"Oh, god!" Iruka lamented. "I hope I didn't do anything embarassing... Just think of what it would do to my career if word of this got out! What would my precious students think? I'm supposed to be a role model! Now all of them will be sneaking out at night, and I will be getting a hundred parent-teacher meetings..."

Kakashi was barely listening to his companion's rant. His instincts told him that they weren't alone, but all of his sense and observations told him otherwise. Those footprints were at least an hour old, and by then the mysterious intruder would have been long gone. Yet why did he feel so watched?

Raidan considered his options as he watched the two. He was leaning against a tree, no more than ten metres away from where the two stood, and yet they could not see him. He could tapdance right in front of their noses, and yet they would not be able to see him. Still, it was possible to hear him, which is why he stayed stock-still without breathing. Immortals did not have heartbeats. His brother had no need to breathe, but did so out of habit. Raidan, on the other hand, breathed oxygen to hide the fact that he did not have to.

He squinted his eyes at the two. Their conversation was getting along, but he could tell that the silver-haired one was on the alert. Just another reason why he was a prime choice. The Jashinist surveyed people like one might survey tools at a hardware store- pick out only the most durable, useful items and leave the rest in their bins. Or in this case, pick out a new tool to replace an old one that was falling apart.

_'I can't do it now.'_ He decided, drawing back and slinking away. _'He's on his guard, and not alone. We're not that far from the damn village, either.' _

* * *

Sai hated to admit it. Well, actually, maybe he just didn't want to admit it, since he wasn't physically able to hate. But either way, he would not admit that he sometimes enjoyed life in the lair. When he wasn't on missions of questionable content, he was free to do as he wished.

Almost.

One night he had snuck out to see the stars, but Raidan had taken this as an escape attempt and intercepted him. It was just as well for Sai that Zetsu had been tracking him also, and emerged out of the ground to check on the situation.

Currently, Sai sat in the silent forest near the Akatsuki lair with his sketchpad. Deidara had promised to meet him there at noon for training in an enclosed space. _'I can't believe it's gotten this bad... I don't even dare to go outside by myself anymore. He has the habit of cropping up at unfortunate times, and somehow remaining undetected no matter his proximity to the target. Sooner or later my luck will run out, and he'll do something drastic. I can just feel it coming.' _

There was the crackling of sticks. Sai exchanged his sketchbook for brush and paper, the ink-tipped brush hovering at the ready. Without bothering to see who it was, he swiftly drew a trio of tigers. They leaped silently off the scroll and ran into the trees.

_Boom_. There was a not-so-distant explosion.

"Careful, Deidara!" Sai called. "You don't want to start a fire!"

"Damnit, I already did! Why'd you send them after me, mm?" An angry voice yelled back. Tongues of flickering flame were swallowing up the thin, dead trees. Branches broke off and fell burning to the ground as the fire spread. Deidara dove out of a curtain of flames, slightly singed but none the worse for wear. "Mind giving me a hand?"

"Two hands." Sai replied, and quickly formed five hand seals. "Suiton: Daibakuryū!" Water appeared spiraling from the ground to overtake everything. Deidara let out a startled cry as he was dragged underwater. Moments later, a deeper voice echoed his cry. Several trees snapped at the trunks and joined the whirpool. The water rose to a fair height before spreading out and sinking back into the ground, leaving many puddles, debris, and two soggy shinobi.

A few harried minutes later, Deidara was still squeezing water out of his lush blonde hair while Sai was still apologizing.

"I've told you many times, Deidara, I'm sorry. But you really wouldn't be so wet if you cut your hair."

"Don't even mention the hair." Deidara growled. "Yours isn't exactly a buzzcut, either."

Sai fingered the ends of his charcoal-coloured hair, which by now had reached his shoulders and sported some impressive split ends. He had begun to consider wearing it tied up or under a cloth, as was a popular chunin/jonin fashion in Konoha. "Well, no." He admitted. "Though, my hairlength pales in comparison to yours. And while you simply refuse to get a haircut, I am unable to whether I want to or not. I regret to say that I do not trust the skills of any of our brothers with scissors." There was a faint cough, almost a laugh from somewhere to their left, and Sai's eyes narrowed. "Hey, Deidara, did you hear someone else say something when I initiated the whirpool ninjutsu?"

Deidara's interest was aroused. "Now that you say so, I _did_ hear someone scream, mm. At first I thought it was you, then I remembered that 1. You wouldn't scream of fright like that. 2. With that particular jutsu, the user becomes part of the water and not a helpless victim of it, and 3. The voice was too deep to be you, mm." He gave a nod with his last peculiar ending noise.

"That settles it. I believe I know who our unseen company is." Sai faced an empty space of ground about five metres away. "Raidan-san, you're quite good." He gave a little, seemingly pleasant smile with his eyes closed. "Would you mind showing yourself now to speak with us?"

The air shimmered slightly to the left of where Sai had been looking. "You're quite good as well." Raidan complimented him as his body reappeared. "Came quite close to pinpointing my location when I was invisible and completely silent. How did you do it?" Sai began to answer, then Raidan interrupted him. "Oh, I see. You observed the extremely slight indentations my feet made in the ground."

Deidara was annoyed. He didn't trust the man, and didn't bother to hide it. "Can you stop reading his mind every other minute? Cut him some slack, will you, mm?"

"Cut him some slack? Let him loose? Hmm." Raidan appeared to ponder Deidara's words. "Alright, I can do that." His eyes glanced at Sai, who froze for a half second, then tumbled to the ground.

"W-what? I didn't mean like that!" Deidara protested, and he bent down to offer Sai a hand, helping him up.

"It's alright, Deidara." Sai said calmly. "I'm perfectly fine. It was just a joke."

"That's right, no harm done!" Raidan added cheerfully, but the look that he gave Sai clearly said _At least, not this time._

"It wasn't very funny to me." Deidara took a step forward, vexed with the immortal's attitude. "And it was completely uncalled for, mm."

Sai looked between Raidan and Deidara uncertainly. Whenever he looked at Raidan, he got the strangest feeling in the pit of his stomach. It was a wholly new thing to him, this feeling, and he wasn't sure if he liked it. It didn't feel anything like this 'happiness' that he had experienced before; quite the opposite. And the more he looked at Raidan, the more that feeling grew. Sai averted his gaze and looked at his friend. He knew that for whatever Deidara said now, Raidan would get _him_, the innocent bystander, back for. He wanted to halt the rising tension, but did not know how. An image flickered in his head, a memory of a sunny spring day spent in the airy and informative Konoha civilian library. Reading his favourite books about how to form good friendships and more importantly, how to maintain them.

_'That's right. A calm, sympathetic approach is best when breaking up an argument between one's friend and a third party. But what does sympathetic mean?'_

He shrugged, put on a smile and approached.

"Really, Deidara, I'm-"

"Don't give me that crap again, mm." Deidara snapped at him, and Sai immediately shut up. "I know by now that you lie every time you say something like that. Raidan, don't think you can go on like this. You damn well know that it ain't funny or appreciated by anyone, mm. Now get the hell out. We're going to practice and you might get caught in the crossfire."

"Relax, relax." Raidan put his hands up in a display of innocence. He began to back away, looking from Deidara's angry face to Sai's deadpan one. "I can tell I'm not wanted here. See you later." With that, he turned his back on them and walked through the now blackened trunks. No more words were spoken until he was far gone. Then Deidara faced Sai once more.

"Do you want to go practice somewhere else?" He asked abruptly.

Sai decided not to comment on what had just happened and smiled.

"Of course."

* * *

I have to admit, it took me a while to get back onto this story.

Truth is, I looked at the story and realized I wasn't happy with how I hadn't set up a part of its plot, so I got discouraged and didn't feel like continuing. I looked back at it constantly over many days, and could not get a single speck of inspiration nor summon up the will to change such a big mistake. Finally I've decided just to wing it and hope that the damaged framework will knit itself back together as I write.

One of the main reasons I got back to writing is because I remembered how frusterated I get when an author never updates a story you follow. Sorry! :(

Apologizing for the shortness. I just wanted to get this done and over with so I could go to sleep and tackle a bigger chapter tommorow.

Thank you all so much for reviewing! I get inspiration for future chapters, helpful tips, reminders (Sometimes I forget about something that I had intended to include) and above all the will to go on! =)


	13. Bonds of Hatred: Part Three

Here we go, a nice new long chapter! It's got some angst, some fluff, some drama, some adventure, some humour, some friendship, some tradgedy, no romance (Hard to include it if you're not writing yaoi pairings and you have pretty much only blokes as characters), a little bit of almost everything, excepting things like supernatural and parody. Hope you all like it!

**Bonds of Hatred: Part Three**

**What is this?**

* * *

Frogs croaked out in harmony with the aerial birds and waterfowl, creating an early morning chorus. The river burbled as it went about its course, winding its way through green grasses and the occasional patches of tall bamboo. Everything was peaceful.

"Remind me why we came here when we could have gone straight back from our mission, mm?" Deidara grumbled from where he sat upon a mossy rock, watching his partner inspect a tall bamboo stalk. A fly buzzed past his face and landed on his ear. Annoyed, he slapped a hand to his head, but it must have had shinobi reflexes, as it took off just before his hand connected. Deidara rubbed his now sore ear ruefully. "No, scratch that. Remind me why _I _couldn't have just gone back by myself, without you dragging me along!"

"Because I appreciate your company." Sai turned and gave Deidara a smile. He held up a long bamboo pole. "Think this one looks good?"

"I don't give a damn, mm."

"So it does." Sai sat down on the riverbank and dangled his feet in the water as he calmly and methodically stripped off the leaves. Deidara watched the leaves fall from his hand into the slowly flowing water for a while. He watched them float lazily downstream. Then, after the long green leaves passed from his sight, his gaze returned to the ones that were being dropped. It was a friendly silence, but Deidara couldn't stand it any longer after the fifth time he switched his stare.

"Your shoes are getting wet." He noted.

"I know. It doesn't matter." Sai replied. He removed several more leaves and branches before he looked up again."I'm sorry." He realized. "Am I boring you, Deidara?"

"Noo.." Deidara replied, voice positively dripping with sarcasm. "I've only been sitting here, completely patient for half an _hour_, waiting for you to be done."

"I... see?" Sai seemed confused. "Are you trying out an accent?"

Deidara slapped a hand to his face in exasperation, and by chance nailed the fly that had been bothering him so much earlier. "Y'know, I really don't get why I don't just leave. It's not like you're ordering me to stay, mm. Not that ya can in the first place."

Sai finished his peeling and stood up, tying the pole to his pack. "It's because I'm your friend." He answered simply, and with that walked over to his waiting ink hawk. Deidara stared after him for a moment before chuckling.

"Kid, I don't know how you do that."

* * *

Raidan couldn't help it. A huge, devilish grin spread across his face as he looked down at the two distant figures on the winding dirt path. One blonde, one dark-haired. They had almost reached the cover of the trees now. Everything was going perfectly. In just a few days, he would have access to most of Konoha's deepest and darkest secrets. His littlest puppet was on its way back to where he could be within his reach. And judging by what he carried on his back, he had a new weakness that Raidan could exploit.

_'Jashin must really appreciate me.'_ Raidan thought gleefully.

The Akatsuki pair down below had no idea of their watcher. Deidara was talking animatedly to Sai, with the latter occasionally nodding his head or commenting in his quiet way.

"So the old man-"

"The Tsuchikage." Sai corrected him. The lair entrance opened; they stepped in and it closed off behind them.

"Yeah." Deidara seemed indifferent. "Anyways, so the old man was _pissed._ I thought I was dead for sure, but turns out he just gave me a talking-to. Never really did grow back all of the hair on his head after that incident." He was about to take another step when cracks appeared in the ground before him. A huge set of green, plant-like jaws rose from the stony floor and half unfolded to reveal Zetsu.

"Pein wants to see you, Deidara." The white side said cheerfully. "**And you'd better make it quick.**" The black side added nastily.

Deidara harrumphed and crossed his arms. "Is it really urgent, mm?"

"You should know Pein by now." was all white Zetsu said, and waited for another response. Deidara uncrossed his arms and looked at Sai with a slight hint of uncertainity in his eyes.

"Will you be alright by yourself?" The blonde asked before he could stop himself.

"Of course. You can go, it's no trouble." Sai waved a farewell. Deidara stared after him, biting his lip. It was only when he heard a polite cough behind him did he shake himself and continue on his way.

Sai knew his way around by heart by then. The ever-lit torches flickered as he went by, casting eerie shadows on the walls. His thoughts traveled back to one of Orochimaru's many hideouts, which had been laid out much like his new home. He wondered what had become of it after they had ravaged the place. It probably was abandoned by now, being not very complex to begin with. What he had seen of Sasuke's room before the traitor had blown it up was very little; it was no more than a place to sleep. Sai's room in the Akatsuki lair, by comparison, was much more. It still was fairly simple, but his bed was tidy, the desk was neatly arranged, and the walls were adorned with pictures. More title-less masterpieces had been added to his collection over time. Sai sat down in his chair with a whittling knife and stared at the long bamboo pole he had been carrying.

_'Now...'_ he thought, _'I'm going to try a new style of art.'_

The knife began methodically cutting the pole into sections of varying size. Sharp pieces of bamboo soon littered the ground. Once a piece was done, he used the knife to carve out intricate swirling designs on it, adding a different kanji on each one. He then took some of Deidara's non-explosive clay that the man had let him borrow and plugged one end of each section, before putting the sticks down and reaching for glue. It was a long and tedious process, and by the time each section was glued together Sai's hands ached. He didn't mind, however; art took time and patience. And what he would create with what he was making was something both fleeting and eternal; something that was fleeting in its creation and yet stayed eternally in the hearts of all those who bore witness.

That is, if he could master it first. Sai wound a single layer of tape around the object as insurance and finally placed in on his desk with a sigh. He couldn't help admiring the completed pan flute. A relatively easy instrument to make, it had still taken him a good three hours to cut twenty pieces of bamboo to size and shape, carve such beautiful designs and then glue it all together. On top of that, he still hadn't cleaned up the mess on the floor, either. But there was time enough for the dangerous task later. He reached out a hand and picked up the flute.

No. It was a bad idea. There was no way he could play an instrument. He could make his way through material art just fine, but music was of a much higher caliber.

Music required emotion. And emotion was the one thing he did not have.

Sai hesitantly brought the flute closer to his lips and blew one note. It was soft and sweet. The note reminded him of the first time Deidara had declared him, _Sai,_ the emotionless jerk (As described once by Sakura), as being his friend. A warm feeling rose up in his body at that memory. Without thinking, he blew another note, then another, making up the tune was he went.

He experimented with various songs for a long time, writing down their notes on a sheet of lined paper. He was so caught up in it that he did not hear his door open and close.

"You should really greet your guests when they arrive." A voice said airily. "Especially ones who visit often."

Sai's eyes widened slightly as he heard that voice. He stood up so fast that he knocked his chair over backwards, but within a moment a searing bolt of heat ran through his body and he was brought to his knees. He bit his lip, squeezing his eyes shut- praying that Raidan would quickly lose interest.

He did. The heat vanished and Sai was able to look up, though he dared not stand. Raidan was leaning against the door like he owned it, smiling down at him.

"Ah, now that I've got your attention..."

_'What is this feeling?'_ Sai couldn't place it. It wasn't happiness, he had figured that much out. Why would he feel happiness when looking at the man? However, it wasn't fear, either, which was the natural reaction that Raidan would inspire from people. What was it, then? His knuckles whitened against the still-green flute.

"I'm sorry for not noticing you. I was occupied." Sai apologized, voice flat.

"It's alright." Raidan waved away the apology. "You play that thing damn well, kid."

"T-thank you." Sai was unsure of what to say. It was clear that Raidan had no good intentions, but what was he planning? Why the compliment? The man was still smiling, but Sai didn't trust him just because of that. There were many uses for a smile- Sai had said it himself, a long time ago. Raidan strode over and bent down by Sai, stretching out a hand. Sai shrank back, but Raidan was faster, and grabbed the pan flute with lightning speed. He held it high out of Sai's reach, examining it. His eyes traced one kanji.

"Hmm. 'Nakama', eh? I never knew you were into this stuff. If you ask me, it's all a load of crap." Sai saw Raidan's fingers tighten on the instrument, and with a flash realized that he intended to break it. Taking Raidan by surprise, he barreled forwards from his kneeling position, striking Raidan in the stomach and pushing him forwards with his whole body. Feeling Raidan strike the wall, Sai leaped backwards and kicked out, striking Raidan's wrist and sending the flute flying. It landed safely on his bed. However, Raidan lashed out with one hand and caught Sai's ankle as it retreated.

_'What incredible speed...'_ Sai thought numbly. _'I couldn't even see his hand moving.' _

Raidan swung his arm back, but instead of tossing Sai away he kicked him. Sai crashed into his chair, and just then he realized what lay around it. Instinct took over, and his hands went out to stop his fall with a front spring and stop his face from being sliced in to ribbons by the leftover bamboo. However, this was only a slightly better move, because as he executed the front spring the bamboo dug into his hands; then he was off of them, spiraling through the air to land on his feet. Blood trickled down from his cut palms onto the floor, but he didn't have any time to notice it. He looked up to the wall where Raidan stood, then all of a sudden Raidan was no longer there, just a flash of black across the room, then he was stopped right in front of Sai. He had no time to react as the man pushed him into the wall, both hands holding his wrists.

Sai squirmed in the steel grasp, Raidan far too close for his liking.

"Stay still, you little bastard." Raidan growled. "Do you know how long I was waiting for this? Do you know how long I've looking forward to these few days?" Sai didn't answer, just kicked out with one leg. Raidan cursed as he dodged, and clenched Sai's wrists tighter, nails digging into his skin. Numbness spread from where his nails dug into Sai's arm all throughout his body. He would have collapsed had Raidan not been holding onto him. "Seems to me that it's pretty clear where your loyalties lie. Still, it would be wise of you to give up on your village now. In three days, Konohagakure will be in my pocket." Raidan relished the brief, startled expression in those deep, black eyes, eyes the same shade as his.

"Three... days?" Sai murmured. "No. It's impossible. You alone cannot take on the entire village. Neither can you gain control of the Hokage."

"I'm flattered for the underestimating of my abilities." Raidan said dryly, then grinned. "But you're mistaking me. I do not need to take on the old lady to be set up for domination. I just need a higher-up, someone who everybody trusts. Yes, brat- I need Hatake Kakashi, and in three days he's going to be _mine_, just like you are now!" Raidan broke off with a gleeful laugh, and in that moment Sai felt his hold on him slip. With a grunt of effort, Sai broke free of Raidan's grip and swung his arm to Raidan's neck, intending to make use of a primary Root stunning tactic: pressure points. He grabbed hold of the back of his neck, applied sudden pressure in just the right area, and waited for his opponent to fall.

Nothing happened. Raidan gave a dry chuckle, and Sai's eyes widened.

"That won't work on me." he whispered into Sai's ear, before his fist connected with Sai's body just below the ribs. Sai let out a small gasp as all the air was knocked out of him. His arm slid down from Raidan's neck as he staggered back, bumping into the edge of his desk. True to training, he would have recovered in a few seconds had Raidan not gestured with his left hand.

The pain was worse than anything the man had given him before. Sai dropped to the hard ground, not feeling the impact. Mostly it was just the fire, the ice. He shut his eyes tight and ground his teeth, praying that it would be over before he made any noise, that he wouldn't have to give in and face Raidan's derision, that he wouldn't have to... Have to? No. He _wanted_ to call out, yell, anything to make it stop. Anything. He curled up in a tighter ball, trying to be as small and compact as possible.

He opened his eyes, just a fraction, and was dimly aware of a pair of black booted feet going past him and the sound of a door closing.

The unnatural pain stopped, leaving only a sharp pain from his chest whenever he breathed in, and where he had bitten his lip to stop himself from screaming. Then he shifted slightly, and wondered why his back stung, wondered why he was lying on something wet. His thoughts wandered from the topic.

_'He's gone...'_ Sai couldn't feel relief, not yet. There was a faint buzzing in his ears.

A trickle of blood ran down his cheek. He was trembling all over. Sai's ragged breathing, so loud to his ears in the silence of the room, gradually seemed to fade away as the darkness at the edges of his vision grew and grew. Finally, gratefully, he gave into it.

* * *

Deidara whistled as he walked through the halls. Pein had complimented them on the total success of their mission, and granted them a week of free time to spend as they wished. It was a welcome gift, especially since things were beginning to heat up after the most recently captured Jinchuuriki, Yugito Nii, had been killed. Deidara had it all planned out. First, he was going to visit Sai, to see the finished result of his mysterious bamboo pole. Then... Deidara frowned. By then it would be high time to go to sleep. But in the morning, he would wake up as late as he wanted, eat a cool breakfast, and go to the river. Then he would teach Sai some sculpting using the clay he had discovered on the river-banks. Then he'd make Sai teach him how to draw, even though he still firmly believed pottery was far superior to scribbling. Then he would- Deidara temporarily lost his train of thought as he spied Sai's bedroom door.

He knocked once.

There was no answer.

He knocked again. The blonde grew irritated as a minute passed and he was still standing outside, with no invitation to enter. He pressed his ear to the door to try and see if he could hear the shower running, but heard nothing. He banged on the door, and exasperated he tried the doorknob. Seeing that it was unlocked, he invited himself in.

"Sai!" he called. "I'm-" He paused, mouth hanging open.

The black-haired boy was lying on his side in a small pool of blood with a mixed scattering of bamboo shards. His entire back was torn and scratched, and his hands were in no better shape. Deidara couldn't recall how he had gotten there so fast, there he was, kneeling by Sai's side, looking him over frantically for any signs of life. He put a hand to Sai's chest and felt for a heartbeat.

_'Kid's breathing.'_ Deidara thought with relief, then came the anger. _'But it looks like the bastard kicked his ribs in.'_

Sai's eyes fluttered open, and he looked hazily upwards. "...Deidara...?" He murmured.

"Relax, mm. I'm going to go for some bandages, you stay right there an- hey! Where d'you think your going?" Deidara stuttered as Sai painfully tried to haul himself up using the desk as a support.

"No... time." Sai managed to say. He had dragged himself high enough now, and now lay with half his body over the desk. Reaching out an arm, he pulled a piece of paper torward himself. Deidara watched with slightly horrified fascination as Sai began scribbling some odd letters written in the red liquid his hands were still streaming with. The whole thing was barely legible. Finally he held it out by a corner to Deidara, who took it, bemused.

"Sai?" Deidara asked. "What the hell are you thinking? You need treatment, not a crappy drawing, mm."

"It's a code." Sai's words were tumbling over one another in his haste. "I'll be... fine. There's no time. Can you take- take this to Kakashi?"

"_Kakashi?_ Do I look like a damn air mail service to you? And he's _Konoha,_ not-" Deidara stopped in the middle of his sentence. Sai wasn't kidding. He couldn't be sure, but it looked like there was a desperation in those pleading eyes, an urgency that he couldn't begin to understand. Slowly he nodded, and stood up. "Alright." he said quietly. "I'll do it, mm. But you're owing me one heck of a favour."

Sai relaxed, his body sliding down against the desk to where he was comfortably sitting on the floor, away from the bamboo that had caused him so much grief before. He smiled wearily at Deidara, who returned the smile.

"Thank you."

Nothing else needed to be said. Deidara carefully folded the paper and stuck it in his pocket, stepping out of the room.

The door closed behind him. Sai closed his eyes.

* * *

_Clack. Clack. Clack. _Clack went the stick against the cold metal floor, but the old man wielding it was silent as he approached two respectfully kneeling figures in masks.

"Danzō-sama, we have located the traitor in our midst." One of the masked figures said. "He is a chunin schoolteacher, of mediocre ability and possessing no great knowledge. However, he travels in unusually high circles for his rank and age. It can be noted that he possesses great loyalty to the hidden leaf, and would never betray it willingly- or rather, knowingly."

Danzō looked at the Foudation members with his one visible, squinting eye. "Umino Iruka? He has long been a bother to me, but less so now that the Fifth Hokage is in power. I recognize your words, and share your confidence about where his loyalties lie, but his existence is still a liability."

The two Foundation waited for the inevietable assassination order. However, Danzō had other ideas.

"I want you as a pair to follow him. Track his movements and report back to me. Should you discover who is behind his- and our lost agent's- control, attempt capture. Or failing that, kill."

If the agents were surprised, neither of them said anything. Both masks bobbed up and down in a curt nod. With a wave of their leader's good hand, they were dismissed.

* * *

The wind blew steadily in Deidara's face. His hair rippled backwards like it was its own living thing, restrained only by his top ponytail. He continously scanned the ground far below him with his scope, looking for anyone who might be taking a passing interest in the distant white bird. He made sure to always fly near the sun. His mouth was set in a tight line as he surveyed the forests, never wavering.

_'What if the jonin's out on a mission?'_ Deidara thought uneasily. _'How am I supposed to find him then? This is a messed-up mission. I can't believe I'm running errands.'_ Yet again and again his mind returned to the expression on Sai's face. He was dying to know what his partner had written in the letter. _'If Sai wrote this just then, it must have been something Raidan had told him.'_ Deidara felt a slow, boiling anger in him at the very thought of the man. There was no question about it; something had to be done, and quickly. As quick as an explosion. He wondered idly what Raidan would look like in several pieces.

Deidara stifled a yawn. He could have stopped for a proper rest, but instead he had flown straight through the past night, all of the next day, and all of the night. Now he was on his second day of travel, with only brief naps on the go. Sai's urgency was infectious; he would not stop flying for hours. _'Not that I care about what happens, really... I just don't want to let a fellow artist down.' _ The clay dove tilted to the side, catching a thermal and gliding higher. He was entering the Fire Country, which boded ill for staying undetected. He had to stay as high as possible to avoid detection and trust to his long-distance scope. The woods by the border were still mostly uninhabited, however, so he didn't bother paying so much attention.

A flash of silver on his scope. Deidara blinked, then zoomed closer, trying to relocate the silver.

There! He couldn't believe his luck. There was the jonin, leaping from tree to tree, obviously on the return from one of his many solo S-Rank missions. Deidara fumbled around in his pouch and took out a small clay bird, placing in its beak Sai's message. That being done, he launched the bird into the air, and watched it glide away.

* * *

Kakashi jumped off a thick oak branch and landed on the ground, scanning the underbrush warily. Something- or someone- was following him. The bushes in front of him rustled, and he tensed, ready to defend himself. However, he didn't expect what came out at all. A white pigeon, made out of clay. He recognized it and leaped backwards, hands forming the first seal of an earth jutsu that would nullify the explosion and destroy the creature. However, it didn't attack. Rather, it shuffled forwards meekly (if that was even possible for a nonsentient creature), with something clutched in its beak. Curiosity piqued, Kakashi hesitantly reached out and took a bloodstained message from the bird. As soon as he had taken it, the bird flew away. He watched it go with narrowed eyes.

_'The bomber must not want a return message. Now, let's see what we have here...'_ He unfurled the paper and quickly scanned the bloody letters, but slowing down when he realized that it was written in one of the many codes that the ANBU of Konoha used. There was only one person who could have written this in the Akatsuki. Sai had even signed his name, to make doubly sure that Kakashi would understand that the message was from him. It read:

_Danger. Don't go out alone. _

The command was clear, though he could not understand the point to it. What was dangerous? And there was the manner of delivery to be figured out, as well... Kakashi folded Sai's message and placed it in one of his pockets, thinking hard.

_'I assume that they are partners, due to the bomber's previous lack of one, but still- could they... could he...'_ Kakashi shook his head; the very idea of having two people on the inside was ridiculous. Yet there was no other likely explanation. Two people, or one? The fact that it was written in blood boded ill. He feared for his former student's safety, and saw no way that he could possibly be all right.

* * *

Another day passed. It was now a late Friday evening- three days since Deidara had left the Akatsuki lair, and one day since Kakashi had recieved the warning letter. Currently he was sitting on the rooftop of his apartment building, watching the sunset. His _Icha Icha: Paradise _lay forlorn and forgotten beside him. His gaze drifted from the rapidly dimming sky to the rapidly emptying streets. Apparently, some sort of big social event was going on at the local YMSA (Young Men's Shinobi Association), and on any normal day he would be the first one there. But today, he had far more pressing matters to attend to. Kakashi had just spotted Iruka making his way purposefully through the streets, walking swiftly and smoothly in contrast to his normal slow, meandering walk. Getting stealthily to his feet, Kakashi began to trail the chunin.

As he expected, Iruka reached the walls as darkness fell and began to scale them using some sort of concealment jutsu. Kakashi frowned at this- he was able to use it proficiently after his time spent in the ANBU, but a young schoolteacher like Iruka should have had no idea of it.

As he jumped down from the walls into a tree, Kakashi remembered Sai's dire warning. Yet that didn't stop him from continuing his pursuit of Iruka, who had gotten a good bit away from the village by now.

_'After all, I've been safe up to now.'_ He reasoned. _'And Iruka will be with me.' _ He doubted that his friend would be much use in a fight in his current state, but hopefully he would snap out of it. The well-being of others always came before his own, and Kakashi intended to see to it that Iruka got back safely. All things considered, however, he became the slightest bit nervous as they went further and futher from the village. Kakashi increased his speed, intentionally crashing into Iruka and sending them both tumbling to the forest floor.

"H-hey!" Iruka groaned, rubbing his head. "What the heck was that for, Ka- _Kakashi?_" He looked wildly around him. "I knew it!" He pointed an accusing finger. "You were always a sick pervert! Where are you abducting me to?"

Kakashi let out a small sigh. "Iruka, there's no time for games." He paused. The oppertunity was too good to resist. "Much as I'd _love_ to play some with you. But really, we need to talk."

"What is it?" Iruka could tell by now when the jonin was serious or not, and Kakashi definitely meant business. "Don't tell me I've been doing it again?"

"It's not just sleepwalking. I think that you're under the influence of a very powerful genjutsu, but it's not as if your chakra is in disarray. Using my Sharingan, I can tell that it's all in order, except swelled to twice its normal size. You're fairly bursting with it."

"G-genjutsu?" Iruka stuttered. "But does that mean... "

"Yes." Kakashi interrupted. "I'm sure that Naruto has told you all about it, all about the mysterious spy in Konoha. _You're_ the spy."

The shock on Iruka's face gradually fell off, until it was replaced by complete and utter devastation. The young man put his face in his hands, overwhelmed. "Me? Betraying my village like this? How can it... no. It's true. I'm a traitor. I'm a useless piece of junk that indirectly caused the deaths of god knows how many people so far." He would have wallowed in self-pity forever had Kakashi not clapped a comforting hand on his shoulder. The easily emotional chunin looked up, tear streaks still on his face. That grey eye was kind, not the accusing piece of flint he had expected it to be.

"Well, looks like there's nothing we can do now but try to cure you." He said cheerfully.

"Cure... me?" Iruka whispered, voice shaky.

"Of course." Kakashi was smiling underneath his mask. "I'm not going to kill you if I can help it. Besides, the brats would miss you too much, and I'm not about to explain to them how I had to kill you for something you couldn't help."

Iruka gave a watery smile in return. Abruptly, the smile froze on his face. He took a deep, shuddering breath, which was abruptly cut off as he choked on it, legs giving out from under him. Kakashi stood for a second, not realizing what had just happened, before he dropped to his knees by the chunin. Iruka was curled up in agony, clutching his chest.

_'A heart attack?' _Kakashi shook Iruka, trying to get him to snap out of it. _'At his age?' _

"It was kind of you to offer, but you can't save him now." A voice said seemingly out of thin air, a voice that sent chills down Kakashi's spine. Too late he realized the truth behind Sai's words as he stood up to face the gradually appearing figure of a man clad in Akatsuki robes. The man's piercing, bug-like black eyes stared at him, and they crinkled slightly as he smiled- no, _smirked_. Kakashi recognized that expression. It was the same smile that Sai had given when he was attempting to master the Thousand Smile Jutsu.

"What did you do to Iruka?" Kakashi demanded.

Raidan sighed. "Not even asking my name first? Well, you're rude... what I did was simple. I released my hold over him, just like you wanted. The thing is, I'm not sure if he's strong enough to survive it. All of my other puppets died. Looks like he's well on his way to join them." At this, Raidan nodded torward Iruka, who had stopped writhing and lay spent on the ground, breaths gradually getting weaker.

_'Damnit, I need to finish this quickly and get him to a hospital." _Kakashi faced Raidan, uncovering his Sharingan. But the man was no longer there- he was right in front of him, slashing out with a kunai. Kakashi just barely avoided the attack, escaping with a light cut on his cheek. _'Such speed... I could barely follow his movements, even with my Sharingan.'_ He began to form a hand seal.

"I don't think so." Raidan licked some of Kakashi's blood off of the kunai, and formed two odd-looking seals that Kakashi hadn't seen before. Immediately he felt a drastic decrease in his chakra. Kakashi staggered backwards for a moment before he regained his balance. His opponent laughed at the jonin's startled face. "Just one cut is all I need to perform the first part of my jutsu: Chakra drainage. It comes in useful when fighting skilled ninjutsu users like you."

Cursing to himself, Kakashi stepped backwards. The bleached blonde-haired man with the eerie eyes was taking his time to get ready for his next attack, which didn't mean anything good. It meant that he was confident with success now. Kakashi knew that for sure he himself wasn't- he cursed at himself again for not being careful and sending a clone to trail Iruka instead of going himself. Now he was fighting on the spot with no idea of his enemy's abilities. Raidan formed the same two hand seals as before. Kakashi recognized them and darted forwards to get in a taijutsu strike, but his chakra dropped down so low that he lost all of his strength and balance and fell backwards.

_'Great, some upstart S-Rank comes along and two minutes into the fight, starts completely kicking my ass.'_ Kakashi felt slightly resentful at his luck. The man was laughing again.

Neither of them were prepared for what happened next. Earthen pillars shout out of the ground, winding themselves around Raidan and binding him. Many kunai with exploding tags were shot in a flurry from two different trees and stuck onto those pillars, exploding before he could get a change to escape.

As smoke billowed outwards, two masked figures leaped down to stand by Kakashi. One helped him up; he recognized the midriff jackets that labeled them as belonging to Root.

_'__Danzō_ must have had them trailing Iruka, that crafty son of a...' Kakashi realized. Well, by all rights, the enemy should have been blown into bits, but then again this _was_ one of the Akatsuki that they were fighting.

The smoke faded away. The earth pillars had been completely destroyed, but Raidan remained. His skin was heavily burnt in large patches, and blood dripped down from numerous cuts caused by the force of the explosion and flying debris. Yet he was in far better shape than expected. Kakashi peered at him closely through hazy eyes. That upside-down triangle in a circle tattoo on his chest... where had he seen that before? His memory winged back. The silver-haired one who had killed Asuma with that ritual, using the same symbol in his pentacle. Kakashi's eyes widened. Raidan, upon noticing, gave a weary yet still dangerous smile.

"Yes." he rasped. "The fuckhead and I were brothers. Surprising how things like this come back to haunt a person, right? But unfortunately..." Raidan coughed, and wiped blood away from his mouth. "I'm not _quite_ on his level of immortality. Yet. Looks like my big chance was ruined by some unexpected visitors..." Raidan gave an impressively impassive shrug, and began to dissapear. "Ah, well..." His fading voice was wistful. "Back to the drawing board..."

One Root shinobi threw another kunai with a paper seal attached, but it exploded into empty air.

Kakashi felt tired and drained. He sagged, feeling defeated even though the battle had been won.

"Sempai, we should hurry if we're going to save his life." The second Foundation man stood up, with Iruka slung over his shoulder like he weighed next to nothing. Kakashi stared at him for a moment before he could string together the words into a sentence, and another moment before he could understand the sentence.

"Lead the way."

"Daijimu, I'm going to hang back and make sure he doesn't lose consciousness. You rush ahead, and afterwards we can report to D- to Tsunade-sama."

Kakashi was grateful for the idea. He knew that if they had bothered to all stick together, precious moments could be lost waiting for him to catch up. Never had he felt so drained. He could only hope that his favourite chunin wasn't already too far gone.

* * *

Hmm, should I let Iruka die? I dunno. He was (and still is) one of my favourite characters. Just one of the many people that ought to get more screen time, but first and foremost in that category is clearly Sai, who got an introductory arc, then was forgotten. He doesn't even get a lot of fanfics.

Meh. I'm rambling, and it's late at night. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, which I might add that I very nearly gave up on since I have no idea yet as to the full extent of Raidan's abilities. I really have to get to work on that soon, before the next chapter rolls around. Plus, I just discovered fanmade comics for Naruto, but hopefully those will give me inspiration instead of being a distraction :)

Might I add a thank you to the reviewers who just keep returning and tapping out those reviews? Personally I'm hesitant to spend as much as time as it takes to click the 'review chapter' button and give a few words of advice and encouragement, so thank you ^^


	14. Bonds of Hatred: Part Four

Here we must bid a fond adeiu to our dear Raidan. No, he's not going to die, but this will be the last chapter in which he gets action for many a chapter. Please spare me- I need to keep him alive long enough for use later on.

This being said, enjoy!

**Bonds of Hatred: Part Four**

**Hate**

* * *

The air was still. Not so far above from the top of the grassy hill was a collection of massive storm clouds, all of them coloured a deep grey. Occasional flashes of lightning deep in their midst gave a brief, blindingly white lining to their edges. Off in the distance, Sai could see a curtain of rain slowly coming closer and closer. He sighed, eyelids drooping, before he blinked back awake. He had been laying in the same position with his hands behind his head for hours, ever since morning-of the previous day. Now as the afternoon storm rolled closer, he refused to leave his spot on the hillside, underneath a tall oak tree.

Deidara loved thunderstorms. Sai knew what was so attractive about them to the bomber- the swiftness of the flash and the delightful _boom_ that always followed. It was perfect weather, and nigh about time, for his arrival. He kept his gaze fixed on the sky, but occasionally it flickered down to the dark, enroaching and tangled mass of a forest at the base of the hill. The twisted trees held their arms out to him as if reaching out to drag him away. Sai instinctively inched closer to the comforting solidness of the oak tree and looked at the sky again. The first few raindrops began to drip through the widespread leaves and onto his face. Rather than waking up, they began to lull him to sleep.

_'Maybe I will take a nap...'_ Sai thought. _'I'll just move into the open first so Deidara can spot me if I'm asleep.' _He rolled over to his right, not bothering to get up, until he emerged out from under the green crown of leaves, and then paused. Slowly, warily, Sai got to his feet. _'What's this? I sense someone's chakra signature approaching, but no one's in sight.'_ He looked at the sky. Perhaps Deidara was flying above the clouds? But for some reason, he didn't think this was the case. This chakra signature didn't feel like his. No bird came from the skies, but no person appeared from the forest, either. Sai took reached for his ink scrolls and realized he hadn't brought them. Biting his lip, he drew his tantō and held it out in front of him in the standard ready position. Whosever chakra signature it was, it was coming closer and closer. Behind him? In front of him? To his side? Sai felt like it kept switching around, almost like his unseen attacker was circling him. He felt his heartbeat quicken. This chakra... it was disturbingly familiar.

Three shuriken tossed from three different sides flew at Sai. Swiping his tantō in a graceful arc, Sai deflected them all. It was then that Raidan finally showed himself, a sword of his own in hand.

"That's interesting." Raidan muttered. "How could you sense me coming? My chakra signature should have been invisible. Maybe it's because part of me is within you- yes, that's it. That has to be it."

"Or maybe you're just comforting yourself because you can't stand any more failures." Sai put in helpfully.

Raidan's eyes shot upwards to his. Sai couldn't help noticing that there were deep bags under those huge black orbs, like the man hadn't gotten any sleep for a week. Perhaps he hadn't.

Raidan ground his teeth with frustration. "You did something. I know you did."

Sai gave a nonchalant shrug, the picture of perfect innocence. "I was many kilometres away. How could I possibly give warning, Raidan-san?"

As he spoke, a wide, trumphiant grin curled over Raidan's face. "Is that so?" he asked. "Then how come, Sai, I saw your partner all the way over in the Fire Country?"

Sai tensed, but Raidan did not make a move- yet. Still wary, he replied, "Because he wanted to do some spying and stir up a little bit of trouble. I was sure that Pein wouldn't like it if I went with him, so I stayed behind."

"I see." Raidan gave a nod. Sai frowned to himself.

_'Did he actually believe me?'_

"Well, there's the man of the moment!" Raidan continued, pointing a finger upwards. Sai looked where he was pointing and saw a distant white bird that was gradually descending torwards them. He looked back at Raidan, who was dissapearing from sight again, and readied himself for battle, but found his body no longer answered to his orders. Sai felt his arm reach up and replace the tantō in its sheath. "Now let's see if your telling the truth." Raidan whispered to Sai. "I'll make you ask him if your secret message or whatever was delivered, and if he says yes, then I'll kill you." Sai felt his blood run cold. It wasn't an idle threat.

But there was nothing he could do as Deidara landed his clay bird on the hillside. The bird stood and waited patiently, staring at the trio with its blank eyes.

"Heya, Sai!" He called out cheerfully, running up. The rain was beginning to fall harder now, and he almost slipped in the muddy grass before reaching the top off the hill.

"Hi, D-deidara." Sai replied stiffly. "Did- did you... give Kakashi-sensei the... the..."

"Your message?" Deidara finished the sentence. "I sent one of my clay birds to give it to him, and he got it, all right, mm. Don't worry, I didn't explode the messenger in his face." He let out a chuckle then, but it faded away as he noticed the lack of a return smile from Sai. "Sai?" He asked curiously. "You all right, mm? You're looking kinda weird."

"Thank you, Deidara, for the information." Raidan said sarcastically from behind Sai. He revealed himself, and waved a hand. Sai's eyes bulged; he toppled to the ground. Shocked, Deidara knelt by him, shaking him.

"Sai? Sai!"

The boy didn't answer- couldn't answer. His breath came in harsh, quick gasps and he clutched at his chest. Beads of sweat rolled down his face. _'My heart... it's going to... feels like it's going to burst...'_

Deidara heard Raidan laughing. The concern over his face became replaced with fury as he stuck a hand into one of his cloak's pockets, drawing out a handful of clay spiders. Leaping to his feet, he tossed them at Raidan, who easily dodged the explosion. Under the cover of smoke, Deidara sent a clay centipede into the ground. It burst out of the grass at Raidan's feet, who was taken by surprise, but still managed to avoid being completely entangled in the creature's coils before it blew up at the yelled command.

Raidan's jutsu was broken. Sai managed to sit up, trying to catch his breath and recover from the effects. He looked sharply upwards at another explosion, and recieved his second shock of the day. Deidara was standing by him with his index and middle fingers pressed together in his explosive release seal, his face a mask of anger. Never before had he seen his partner look so fierce. He was almost frightening to behold, with a scowl that could kill upon sight.

"Sai." The words were abrupt, barked out through clenched teeth. "Stay down, mm. This is my fight."

"If I stay down, then I'm likely to get stepped on." Sai got unsteadily to his feet, and shook his head to get rid of the remaining cobwebs. He drew his tantō. "I'm sorry for my lack of materials, but I believe I can be of aid to you should he become invisible once more." Deidara glanced at him, and Sai smiled. "Besides, didn't you say that 'us artists should always stick together'?"

Deidara stared at him for a moment longer, and then return his smile. "Let's do this, mm."

* * *

Kakashi leaned against the pale-green painted wall, studying Iruka's sleeping face intently. He felt almost as if he watched him long enough, the man would wake up and demand why Kakashi was staring at him and ask if he was really an old pervert or not. After he had been sleeping two days himself, Kakashi immediately visited Iruka, who was still out cold. Now it had been another couple of days, and still the young man hadn't awoken. The tanned face was rather pale, but other than that he seemed perfectly at peace. However, this didn't comfort Kakashi- he had seen the same expression many times before, on the faces of the dead.

Kakashi turned his head far enough to meet Tsunade's gaze. He also noticed that she grasped a certain bloodstained message in her hands. "Oh, this?" She noticed his stare. "After you passed out on the way to the village, I met with the two shinobi accompanying you and ordered them to hand it over. It's been an... interesting study."

"And the results?" He asked quietly.

"There's no question about it. It's Sai's blood and handwriting. He wrote this message. And the traces of clay still remaining on the edges match what we have stored in the archives. It wasn't hard to get a sample off of your clothes from when you returned from the mission to rescue the Kazekage, but it was considerably more difficult to get enough for analyzation from the paper."

"What do you think of it?" Kakashi broke in before Tsunade could blabber any further about things he already knew. The Hokage blinked at his uncharacteristic impatience before she swiftly recovered.

"There's not much to be said. He obviously is trying to keep his ties to the village intact, and trying to protect it even from his precarious position. I may add that the number of unexplained dissapearances and/or deaths in the Fire Country has lessened somewhat since his capture. It may just be a hopeful inference, but this letter proves that he is still working for us, deep down."

Kakashi felt a small bit of pride arise in him at Tsunade's words. Sai wasn't his student, not really. Nevertheless, they _had_ been a team for a good long while now, and he had imparted some teachings to the boy, not all of them focused solely on battle tactics.

"He's a good kid." Kakashi said simply.

"He is. And I'd expect nothing less of a shinobi from the land of Fire." Tsunade agreed. "Now, there are two more troubling matters to clear up. The first is discovering why the explosion release user was willing to act as a messenger. It could be some devious plan backed up by the leader of the Akatsuki, but something tells me that isn't it. Had you not been warned-" here Tsunade rolled her eyes, "Well, had the intruder's plan succeeded, he would have gained a very sturdy foothold indeed in Konoha politics."

"So he must have his own reasons, and Sai must trust him enough to carry out such a task." Kakashi finished, undeterred by Tsunade's implied rebuke.

"Second problem." Tsunade looked down at Iruka, who still seemed to be sleeping. Unknown to the two, he was awake, albeit only halfway. But as soon as he heard his name, he began to pay attention to their conversation, which had steadily fallen in volume. "Iruka."

"Will he be all right?" Kakashi felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach when he saw the expression on Tsunade's face.

She bit her lip, unsure of how to impart the news. "He'll live, but... all of his tenketsu* were critically damaged from his long time spent underneath the influence of the mysterious jutsu. He'll be able to access them, yes, but only for a fraction of the normal amount. I'm afraid that he will have to step down from duty, permanently."

* * *

The pouring rain and occasional crashing of thunder served to effectively block out the whispered conversation between Sai and Deidara from unwelcome ears. Raidan tapped his foot impatiently. He had been waiting for this moment where he could disregard orders, having proof of Deidara's treachery and cooperation with the prisoner. Now he had something to shove in Pein's face should any retribution come his way. He itched to go tell the orange-haired man what he had discovered. _'Meh, but I need to get these two 'tards outta my skin, first.'_

"Are you done making up a heroic plan to defeat me?" His voice was bitingly sarcastic. "It's kinda chilly out here, and if you haven't noticed, all I need to do to win is this.

He gestured; Sai blinked once and swung his tantō in a jerky arc to Deidara's head. It was easily dodged, but another swing followed the first, and another, with Deidara slowly being forced backwards.

"See?" Raidan smiled exultantly. "Can't do a thing to attack me when-"

"Katsu!" Deidara yelled.

There was a small explosion that engulfed Raidan. They glimpsed a face full of pain and shock right before the dark grey smoke surrounded him. Then, they saw his arm sticking out of the cloud, furiously waving it away. Sai gaped; a large piece of Raidan's right shoulder was missing, obviously blown away in the explosion. It looked like it had taken a direct hit from a missile.

"What the fuck?" Raidan wheezed, his left hand involuntarily snaking upwards to clutch at his shoulder.

"It wasn't that simple, but I sneaked a triple attack in with that first one, mm." Deidara explained trumphiantly."While you were in the smoke cloud, I sent seventeen clay spiders to latch onto you in various areas of your body to explode at my command, so you have sixteen more to go before you can safely attempt to control Sai again. And really, I wouldn't risk them exploding if I were you." Deidara smiled wolfishly. "Unless you feel like losing your manhood in the blink of an eye, mm."

A tinge of red appeared on Raidan's deathly pale face. "You son of a bitch- !" He snarled. "I don't need that shit tactic to win, anyways. I can take both of you fuckheads out at once!"

Sai cast a side glance at Deidara. His friend was smirking challengingly at Raidan, clearly confident that he had just earned them the upper hand. But upon noticing Sai's glance, he turned his head and the smirk became a smile.

"Good, eh?" The blonde beamed. "Now he can't hurt you anymore, mm!"

"Deidara..." Sai murmured. How could he say it? _'Sometimes, words are not needed between close friends. Use nonverbal communication.'_ One of his books had instructed. He had never thought that he would be close enough to anyone to be able to understand them just by looking at their expression. He wasn't sure even if this advice would work. But then again, those books were published, so they had to be true. Sai settled for a single, heartfelt smile.

Deidara gave an affirmative nod, and faced Raidan again. He stuck his hand into his pocket and fed some clay to the mouths on his hands. Sai took this as the cue and darted forwards.

_Clang_.

Steel met steel. Raidan had drawn his own sword. A flash of lightning reflected off of the finely tempered blades, illuminating Raidan's smug face and Sai's deadpan one.

"What was it that you had said, when I first met you, Raidan-san?" Sai asked innocently. "That your skills with a sword were... mediocre?" The word was punctuated with a lightning fast feint and slash; Raidan cursed as Sai cut a long gash across his nose. _'He's quite different from Hidan.'_ Sai thought as he sidestepped to avoid a brutal jab. _'Yet they both use similar Jashinist rituals... just to be safe, I need to avoid getting wounded in the slightest way possible.' _

"You seem to be aware of my attack style, yet you never saw me fight." Raidan stated as their swords locked together. He seemed to have recovered his composure after Deidara's threat. "How come you're so keen on dodging everything, rather than attacking? A poke here and there, but you're obviously not trying to kill me, nor are you simply stalling for time."

"I saw you make a sacrifice to your god Jashin before." Sai replied. "It works with any animal, does it not? Humans, biologically speaking, _are_ animals."

"Clever, clever." Raidan allowed. "Looks like your partner's done readying his attack." Sai did not immediately back away from the fight.

_'He seems almost unconcerned. It's not right- a cornered enemy should not be offering helpful tips or observances.' _Sai thought, put-off by Raidan's actions. He twirled around and disengaged, executing a neat backflip to land on Deidara's newly formed clay bird. Together, they took off into the skies.

"Keep an eye on him, mm." Deidara grunted. "I'm getting a masterpiece of a C2 ready that ought to put him out for a few days. If I had known we were fighting, I'd have gotten a C3 ready... too bad that kind of art takes several days to prepare..." His left hand was kneading the chakra-infused clay with expert precision, fingers working back and forth.

Sai scanned the ground. He had pretty good eyesight, but as they rose higher and higher into the air he began to lose sight of Raidan through the thick, driving rain.

"Deidara." He said calmly, but the man didn't appear to hear him. The bird was beginning to drift off-course over the tangled, dead looking forest. "Deidara, I can't see Raidan anymore. Go lower." Sai repeated urgently, slightly louder now, but his voice was lost in the howling of the wind and the booming thunder. His partner was still focused on his explosive pottery, muttering something unintelligible as he worked. Sighing, Sai stood up and walked over, keeping careful balance as he did so. The forest was far enough below them to promise serious injury, if not death, should any of them fall. "Oi!" He tapped the intent bomber on the shoulder, who turned around to face him with a slightly hurt expression on his face.

"What is it?" Deidara asked.

"We're drifting away, and let Raidan out of sight." Sai explained. "We need to go back."

"Alright, mm." Deidara said, but he made no move to change the bird's course. He looked up at the skies, blinking raindrops away, and sniffed the air. "Do you ever get that feeling, Sai?"

Sai looked at him. Not oddly, not in confusion- simply looked, and wondered, before shaking his head no. "What feeling?"

"A bad one." Deidara said sagely. "Usually thunderstorms put me in a good mood, mm. Yet... " He hesitated. "I don't know. Let's just go back and keep fighting."

"Alright- nghh!" Sai clenched his teeth, and slapped a hand on his back, on the shoulder blade. His fingers curled on the wet cloth as if trying to tear through it. "Is this some sort of new jutsu of Raidan's? It doesn't hurt, but it's unpleasant, like there's something crawling under my skin."

"Let me see, mm." Deidara ordered, and moved closer to Sai, putting one hand on his shoulder.

"Wrong move." Raidan's voice came out of nowhere. The hand emerged from Sai's shoulder, grasping something long that glinted dangerously in the lightning. Raidan appeared to rise halfway out of Sai's back, while he stabbed with the sword that went through Sai's shoulder and chest unharmed, plunging its way straight into Deidara's. The tip of the blade tore through the other end of Deidara's cloak before the hand let go, releasing the blade even as it dissapeared with a fading laugh. Deidara's eyes widened as he stared at the blade in his chest. Numb, he reached one hand to its handle before the hand went limp, and he slowly fell over backwards.

"DEIDARA!" Sai screamed. His mind went blank, wiped clean of any emotion except for panic. As he lunged forwards, catching Deidara as he keeled over, he was doing something he had never done before. He was acting on whim, on his emotions. He was acting like a real human. His hand went to Deidara's throat, searching for a pulse. The panic faded slightly. There was one. Raidan had missed the heart. There was a confused tangle of emotions all fighting each other within Sai; Sorrow, worry, anger.

A soft breath tickled Sai's ear. Raidan bent down next to him, hands still bloody.

"Shame, eh? And he was your only _real_ friend... not like those bastards you got back home..."

All of the warring emotions were swept away at the sound of that voice. That voice, whose owner had taken him away from his friends, his home. He had used him to try and hurt them- and now he had used him to try and kill the friend closest to his heart, who lay slowly dying beside him even now. The emotions, having stopped their conflict all joined together to become one overwhelming force. That force was the same emotion that he had been feeling for so long, albeit in smaller portions. Just then, just then Sai realized what it was.

He hated Raidan.

He hated him with every fibre of his being, this man who seemed determined to ruin everything Sai had worked for over the years. What fueled his slowly burning rage even more was a feeling of utter hopelessness. Deidara was hurt, and he was left alone. This was the one fight he couldn't win. Sai took a deep breath and let it out, trying to control himself. There had to be something he could do. He was far too short on time and too weak right now to attempt any medical ninjutsu, which meant he had to get Deidara to a village with a healer, and fast. He felt the bird grow hotter beneath his knees.

_'Since Deidara's unconscious, this thing's going to explode,'_ Sai realized. _'But I need to act quickly, before Raidan makes his move first.' _

He drew Deidara closer to his chest, careful not to jostle the sword impaled between Deidara's ribs.

Raidan grinned at Sai. "That's it, cuddle his body." He prompted. "Cry over him dying, go ahead."

Sai's eyes never left Raidan's as he stood up, and then leaped backwards, diving feetfirst off of the bird.

He felt no trace of regret in his mind as they plummeted torward the forest. The bird exploded mere seconds after Sai jumped.

The trees rushed closer and closer. A bitter smile graced Sai's face now. _'Either way, we're pretty much dead.'_ He reflected. _'Being blown up, or executed by Pein later for finally proving that there is a way around his supposedly perfect plan.'_ He twisted his body around, adjusting himself so his back was facing downwards with his right arm securely hooking around Deidara. He stretched his left arm out, feeling the first branches whipping at his bare skin. Suddenly, his arm contracted, linking onto a wider branch and hanging on with all his might. Stars danced in Sai's head as their combined weight and impact of their fall was stopped by the timely snatch. He was sure that he had heard a _pop_ as his shoulder dislocated itself. He was forced to let go, and they plummeted all of two metres to the prickly forest floor.

* * *

Birds were chirping outside. It was a beautiful evening in the village of Konohagakure. The faint laughter of passing civilians drifted up to the second floor hospital windows, arousing stirrings of longing from the patients stuck there.

Iruka sat up in bed, interlocked hands casually resting on his blanket-covered knees. He barely glanced Kakashi's way when the jonin entered, preferring instead to keep staring out of the opened window.

"I guess I'll have to retire early, then?" Iruka said softly.

"Going right to the point." Kakashi sighed. He sat down on the edge of Iruka's bed, not liking how the chunin was deliberately not making eye contact. "Listen, I'm really..."

"It's alright." Iruka interrupted. "I guess I was never really meant to be a shinobi. I'm not that upset, so don't go and blame yourself like you always do. I'll still be happy teaching, even if end up teaching things like math or history to the village children." His words did nothing. Kakashi knew that his friend was trying to console himself as much as his peer.

"Iruka." He said gently. "You're acting like it's all over for your career. It's not. You have a true shinobi's heart, no matter what others may say. No poison or genjutsu can taint your will of fire. Tsunade has granted you permission to keep teaching, should you wish it, but you will need an assistant for practical demonstrations. After a second examination, she diagnosed you as Rock Lee once was. You'll be limited to using taijutsu, but it's still something. And most of all, you're alive."

"I'm alive." Iruka repeated. He looked down at his hands and twiddled his thumbs, then looked Kakashi squarely in the eye. "Yeah. You're right. You know, tell Hokage-sama that I appreciate her offer very much, but I won't be taking it."

Kakashi raised a skeptical eyebrow. This wasn't like Iruka at all. "You're not going to teach anymore?"

"No, of course I will." Iruka laughed. "But a crippled teacher won't be good for those healthy kids. I think I'll specialize, do occasional classes on taijutsu with them. Also, it's been a dream of mine to have an academy of my own. I think I'll run a dojo teaching some martial arts that use taijutsu-based moves to instruct civilians in self-defense. Just because they can't use chakra doesn't mean they can't fight, too. Not _seriously _fight, but y'know, in case they ever are attacked."

Kakashi listened to Iruka chatter on and on, a tiny smile growing underneath his mask. The happy light had returned to those dark, innocent eyes. He felt as if he were listening to a delighted six-year old.

"But you're not that good at taijutsu to begin with." Kakashi pointed out while Iruka paused for breath. The latter shot him a glare, which quickly became a resigned look.

"I know." he admitted. "Which is why I'm going to... going to... erm... ah, In his spare time, of course. I wouldn't dare pull him away for missions. Nor would I dare try to interfere his special training with his team. But in his free time, I'm planning on training with..." he gulped. "Gai-sensei."

Amused, Kakashi reached over and patted a mortified Iruka on the back. "It's all right." He said encouragingly. "I'm sure Gai will accept you. Don't get nervous."

"It's not _that_. I just know that Gai tends to get a little... overenthusiastic about things. Training in particular. I'm not exactly keen on doing 500 laps around the village on my hands, but..." Iruka took a deep breath. "If that's what it takes to reach my goal, I'll do it."

* * *

Sai staggered to his feet. With a grunt and a wince he rammed his dislocated shoulder against a tree, putting it back in its proper place. Then, he bent down, kneeling in the dirt next to Deidara.

"This is going to hurt, so bear with me." He said to the unconscious blonde, knowing that he couldn't hear him but wanting to say the words all the same. Taking a deep breath, he exhaled and wrapped both of his hands around the sword handle. It took another breath before he could begin pulling it out.

Amazingly, Deidara didn't wake up. His eyelids were shut tight, and he was sweating slightly, but he did not regain consciousness during the procedure. As soon as the blade was completely withdraw Sai flung it away and put two interlocked hands on the wound, green chakra appearing around them. He stayed in the same position for a long, immeasurable amount of time. Rain still dripped from the thick network of trees above them, but the thunder and lightning had died down. Somewhere in the distance an owl hooted.

Exhaling deeply, Sai sat back. He didn't dare use up any more energy than he needed during the healing process, in case Raidan found them. All he could do was stabilize Deidara's condition until he found him a proper healer in the next village.

Sai rose to his feet and carefully picked Deidara up in his arms. The boy took one step; almost fell from exhaustion. He shook his head to clear it and plunged into the depths of the forest.

* * *

Faint lights. A small collection of buildings. Sai perked up as soon as he saw the square outlines of houses. He had no idea where he was, Deidara still hadn't awoken, and it felt like they had been walking for hours. By then, he would have gone to sleep in a snake's nest. He chose what looked like the biggest building and walked inside, praying that it was an inn.

A bored-looking innkeeper glanced up from his newspaper at the duo.

"Room for two?" he droned, holding up a key with one hand.

Sai gave him a perfectly fake smile. "If you don't mind, sir, there are some coins in my pocket which should suffice."

"Hrm. Barely enough." The man harrumphed as he exchanged the coins for the key. "Enjoy your stay." This was said with a leer. Sai turned away, heading down the hallway.

The leer slid off of the innkeepers face as soon as they had gone. He looked after them with a tinge of sadness in his gaze.

"Poor bastards..." He muttered regretfully. "Sure as 'ell don't envy them."

* * *

*tenketsu- chakra pressure points, from which chakra flow stems. There's a fair number of them, over three hundred small points around the body. Have to love Narutopedia for research :)

The next chapter marks the start of a new arc and a new set of characters- and cookies to anyone who guesses who those characters are going to be. They aren't OC's, so this isn't an impossible challenge. Unfortunately no cook, no matter how good they are, can create digitalized cookies that still taste okay.

Heh, I actually had fun writing some parts of this chapter. I started writing Iruka's death scene in one part, but then I got too upset and backspaced it all. So instead, I compromised: He lives, but with a price. Was that price believable enough? I mean, he _did _get medical attention pretty fast, compared to Raidan's other victims. But honestly, Iruka's not that strong... so I tried making it even enough.

Thank you for reading!


	15. Bonds of the Spirit: Part One

Just a forewarning before you begin reading these next few chapters. And by few, I mean _really_ few. I'm really excited to write the arc after this one, and I don't have much inspiration for this arc... so why not skip it?  
The trouble is, I need some sort of transition in between. But writing this chapter and its companions will be a menial task for me until I finish this arc.

Simply trying to apologize in advance if my writing seems like I didn't put that much heart into it as I usally do =( I'll try to keep it on track!

* * *

A greyish light shone through rickety shutters and onto Sai's face. He blinked in annoyance and sat up with a yawn. For a moment he was disoriented, finding himself not in his room back in the lair, but as soon as his eyes fell on the still form in the bed next to his he remembered everything. Moving as quietly as possible, he threw the blankets off of himself and tiptoed over to Deidara.

"You don't have to try to be quiet, mm." A wan voice said, and Deidara rolled over. Sai was relieved to see that although pale and worn, the blonde looked alive. _Was_ alive. He fell silent as Sai checked the makeshift bandages he had made out of the scraps of Deidara's Akatsuki cloak, and looked on with a detached interest as Sai began healing him further. Deidara winced. "Shit, that's sore." Sai was quiet, making Deidara feel awkward. "Is it... really bad?" he asked hesitantly.

"It is." Sai said simply, focused on his work.

"Sorry." Deidara muttered, averting his eyes.

"For what?" This time Sai looked up at him, but Deidara kept avoiding his gaze.

"For making you worry. I should've paid more attention, mm."

"It's not your fault. Who could have known?" Sai tried to change the topic. He knew if they kept talking about what happened last night, he himself would be the one trying to apologize for something that wasn't his fault as well. "Besides, I should be the one apologizing. I didn't have much else to use for a bandage besides your cloak, so I had to rip it up. I guess Pein will get you a new one when we get back."

Deidara sat up as Sai finished, gingerly poking the newly bandaged area and instantly regretting it. After he weathered Sai's reprimand he sheepishly he laid back down and stared at the ceiling.

"We're not going back, Sai." Deidara said flatly.

Sai nodded. For some reason, he had been expecting this answer. "Raidan will come after us again. As long as we're still... _connected_," this word was said with the faintest hint of disgust, "Then we'll be traceable."

"We'll find a way, mm." Deidara laid back and rested his head on the pillows. "Do you know where we are, anyways?"

Sai stood up and walked over to the windows. They were on the first floor, so he could see passerby very well. "I'm not sure. Some village." He studied the scene intently as the early morning sun rose higher. His skin prickled; it felt like they were being watched. Sai drew back into the shadows of the room so swiftly and silently he might have been a shadow himself. _'There's something wrong with this village.'_ he decided. _'The people here aren't striding, they're scurrying, like rats afraid of being caught by a predatory cat...' _His keen eyes fell on a hooded passerby and read the metal plate on their neckband before registering any other part of the shinobi's appearance. _'...Or rather, by the predatory snake.' _

"Deidara." His words were curt. "Get ready to leave. Quickly."

"The hell?" Deidara sounded incredulous. "Something show up that bothers you? We oughta stay here for a bit and plan our next move, mm. Where else can we go?"

"Anywhere but here." Sai didn't bother to explain. He had already slung his tantō and its sheath over his shoulder, and was extending a hand to his bedridden companion. "Hurry!"

"Yeah, yeah." Deidara's tone was resigned and irritable, but he took Sai seriously now and tried to sit up. Sai kept his hand in the air, patiently waiting, but getting more on edge by the minute.

The room shook. Deidara froze.

"What was that?"

"I don't know." Sai admitted. Cracks appeared in the wooden walls, and without warning the glass of the window shattered inwards. Sai grabbed Deidara, hauling him off of the bed and out of harm's way as then the entire wall exploded. Shards of wood flew everywhere. He shielded his injured partner with his own body, despite faintly heard protests. The sound of the explosion died down, leaving their ears ringing. But over the ringing, there was a faint crackling noise.

Sai gingerly got to his feet, feeling the sting of many little splinters in his back. As he helped Deidara up, he got his first good look at the intruders.

"Heya." Kabuto said cheerfully, waving his hand cheerfully at the two. "S' a pleasure to meet you again, Sai. Especially remembering how you turned your back on me last time."

"What's he talking about, mm?" Deidara muttered to Sai, who shook his head, eyes focused on the second intruder.

"Ancient history." Sai's inky black eyes went up and down the second man- man, boy? It was hard to tell. That oddly styled black hair was the same as always. The robe around his upper body was tied loosely, with a thick purple rope. Sasuke's expression was neutral as he returned Sai's stare, but the boy was sure that he saw a glimmer of hatred in those eyes. Hatred? He remembered all too clearly the day that his team and the traitor had last met. He had thought that Sasuke simply harboured strong hatred torwards his brother. Sai wondered if the boy was capable of feeling anything but hate.

"Now, now, Sasuke, I know you have some strong, er, _feelings_ about Sai-kun here for being what he is on your- ahem- _former _team, buut... I would appreciate it if we just carry on. I'm getting bored of dealing with bodies every time we make a house call, and this is really quite the catch."

Sai saw Sasuke's fingers curl slightly. Not quite a fist, but the beginnings of one. Almost like he was gripping an imaginary sword. _'Ah. So that's why.'_ There was a movement. Sai's eyes flickered to Sasuke's feet as the right one adjusted itself. He tensed- and then without further warning, Sasuke leapt forwards.

Sai's tantō was out, blocking what looked like a thin blade of crackling energy.

As soon as Sai was attacked, Deidara ran forward to help. Or rather, he tried. As soon as he made a hasty move, he let out a cry of pain and sank to the ground, clutching at the still-healing wound in his chest. Kabuto moved to kneel behind Deidara, a chakra blade forming around his hands as he brought one up to Deidara's neck.

"There, there, don't do anything stupid." Kabuto's voice was condescending. "Just sit back and watch." The silver-haired man broke off with a chuckle. His eyes followed the battle going on with malicious intent, enjoying the bloodshed despite his slight annoyance at his orders not being followed.

Sai and Sasuke remained in a deadlock for but a moment. Then there was a sizzling noise, and the metal of the tantō began to crack and melt as the lightning sword did its job. Sai leapt backwards just as his weapon was sheared in half. He began forming a hand seal, but Sasuke was far faster than he. His wild-haired opponent's hands moved through a succession of seals and then in front of his mouth, blowing a stream of fire at Sai. As it flew across the room, flames flickered upwards, alighting upon the rafters. The fireball kept coming. Indeed, it would have incinerated him in moments had not Sai finished his jutsu.

"Suiton, Suishōha!" Sai yelled. A vortex of water enveloped him. The fire hit the angrily swirling blue liquid and danced around it in a circle, as if trying to find a way to break through. _'If I only had my ink with me, I could be using this oppertunity to launch a powerful counterattack. The most I can do right now is ninjutsu and taijutsu... which means...'_ A plan began to formulate in his head. Acting upon it quickly, Sai directed the water to shoot outwards in a deadly wave, arching over the heads of Kabuto and Deidara, but slamming full-on into Sasuke. Sasuke flew backwards, crashing against the west wall, which was still intact, and sliding down it. Unease flickered in Sai's mind. He was fighting an Uchiha. He was fighting _the _Uchiha, the second to last one remaining in the world. He had trained for this moment for so long. But then, why did it seem so easy?

No time to think. Sai seized his oppertunity and drew what was left of his tantō. The blade was still sharp enough to kill. He darted forwards, grabbing Sasuke's throat and slamming him against the wall, with his other arm poised and ready. His blade glinted in the treacherous light of the flames, reflecting the glint of Sai's emotionless black eyes.

"Game over." He said simply.

Sasuke blinked once, very slowly. When his eyes opened again, Sai saw that they were red, with three black dots in the iris... _'Sharingan!'_

"For you." was the only reply. Sai tried to leap backwards but found he couldn't. All of a sudden, dizziness enveloped him, and he blinked. There was an uncomfortable pressure on his neck.

Sasuke's hand was around his throat, nails digging into his flesh. The tip of a sizzling blade of energy was held at the ready, just like Sai's was a moment ago.

For a moment, Sai couldn't comprehend what had happened. But just as the realization dawned on him, Kabuto mirrored his thoughts and answered.

"Quite the pretty genjutsu, hm?" he sounded delighted. "Orochimaru-sama always takes so much delight in seeing Sasuke-kun perform it upon subjects for practice. Their shock at being caught- what fun!"

"When?" Sai asked simply. Sasuke's matching red eyes never left his all throughout Kabuto's talk. It was disconcerting.

"From the start." Kabuto chuckled. He pressed his hand to Deidara's mouth as the latter tried to say something- a word of warning? "Now, Sasuke-kun, please put him down, and we'll be on our way. This place is a mess." A falling, burning rafter punctuated his words with a loud thump as it crashed onto what had been Deidara's bed.

Sasuke didn't reply. His hand gripped Sai's throat tighter and tighter, making him gasp for air.

"Sasuke." There were no honorifics now. Kabuto's voice was sharp.

Sai's knew what was going to happen a second before it did. Sasuke's right arm twitched slightly. Sai's hand instinctively went up in self-defense, but it didn't reach far enough in time. His eyes widened with the faintest hint of fear as Sasuke swiftly let go of his throat, brought the arm holding the lightning sword back, and then lunged forwards.

* * *

"Remind me again what makes sharks superior to whales?" Raidan asked Kisame casually. The blue-skinned man's eyes lit up, and inwardly Raidan smiled. It was so easy to carry on a conversation with this man. He liked him- he was easy to talk to, and shared at least part of Raidan's sense of humour. Both of them took great pleasure in seeing their enemies die.

"Are you kidding me?" Kisame exclaimed. "As if you would need reminding! Sharks don't need to come up for air, like some weak mammal. They're completely in their element when immersed in water. Stop up a whale's blowhole and it ain't going anywhere."

"Yes, but even a great white shark does not dare-" Raidan broke off with a strangled choking noise. He clutched at his neck in panic, going weak at the knees as more and more chakra poured out of his body. He sensed that it was going to that hated child to try and heal whatever had happened to him, but whatever _had_ happened was taking too much out of Raidan. If he didn't stop it sometime soon, he would end up in a bad way himself.

"Raidan!" Kisame cried, kneeling by him with one pointy-nailed hand on his back. "What the hell?"

Raidan bit his lip, sweat dripping off of his face. "Damnit!" he cursed repeatedly, voice getting louder. "Damnit, damnit, damnit!" _'That shit-headed kid got himself hurt that bad? Hell, I don't want to do this.'_ However, it was his only choice. Reaching deep within himself, Raidan hastily cut off his tie to Sai. As soon as he did so, the draining of his chakra stopped.

"Fuck." He said weakly. "I just... just fucking _lost_ them both."

That was all Kisame could get out of him before Raidan keeled over and landed facefirst on the floor.

* * *

Deidara's eyes stretched wide. The blade went straight through Sai's neck, then straight through the wall, fixing him in place. His lips were parted slightly, almost quizzically, and his eyesbrows were raised by a fraction. In death, Sai showed more expression than he ever did in life. It would have been a funny look if not for the sword impaling him in place, the blood running down his body. It had happened so fast...

_'Sai...'_ Deidara thought numbly. He could barely hear Kabuto scolding Sasuke. Scolding him, like he was a little child who had tipped over his mother's favourite vase. He was treating Sasuke like he hadn't just killed Deidara's partner, his last living friend. _Killed. Dead. _His mind flashed back to that horrible day when he had crested a hill of rocky debris and looked down at the lifeless body of his danna, with three swords stuck through his heart. Mind going blank, Deidara twisted around in Kabuto's grip, freeing himself and lunging for Sasuke. He didn't even know how to do it- all he knew was that Sasuke Uchiha needed to die, right at that moment.

Pain flared simultaneously in his wounded chest and in his left arm as Kabuto took hold of it and twisted it behind his back, hooking a foot around his ankles to stop him from running any further.

"Now, now, you hold still." His breath tickled Deidara's ear. "We don't want to deprive Orochimaru-sama of the chance to..." Kabuto's hissing voice trailed off. All three of their heads were faced in Sai's direction. For the second time that day, Deidara found himself lost in utter shock.

Sai's hand had _moved_. His pale hand jerkily rose upwards, curling bloody fingers around the lightning blade, ignoring the acrid smell of burning flesh as his hands made contact. With a sudden tug, he pulled it out of his throat and dropped to the ground. The blade clattered to the floor. Sai swayed unsteadily on his feet.

* * *

The world was fuzzy. Blurred figures stood among a fiery orange and brown haze. Sai blinked several times, but his vision wouldn't come into focus.

_'Is this what dying feels like?'_ He wondered curiously. _'But then, why am I standing? Shouldn't I be laying down?' _ He brought a hand to his neck, feeling it. The skin was moving, stretching. Slightly sickened he lowered his hand again and found that at last he could see. At that moment, he had eyes only for the blonde man in the middle of the three, standing so still he could have been frozen.

Sai gave Deidara a tiny smile. "Sorry." His voice was tiny and weak, the vocal cords only partially healed at the moment. "I..."

However, Deidara never found out what Sai was sorry for, because right then all words left the boy and he collapsed.

* * *

Whew, I hate writing people as creepy as Kabuto. Sasuke's perfectly fine. I really don't look forward to writing Orochimaru... Raidan was bad enough... Alrighty, there you have it! ~

Just a warning, though, as to the next update date. Acutally, a few reasons:

1. Hurricane Irene's coming up in my area on Sunday, so I put all of my files (Including the next chapter of Bonds) on a disk and if worst comes to worst, I'll have to re-upload things from there onto a new computer, which will definitely take a while considering all of the junk I had to burn onto disc.

2. I'm supposed to be going on vacation for a week the day after, although as to when the roads will be open I don't know. So even if Mother Nature took pity and nothing happens, nothing until next Saturday.

3. Summer work and some unfortunate procrastination... 'Nuff said.

Back to the story... I was considering leaving Sai's 'death' as a cliffhanger, then realized that the chapter would be too short and too cruel. However, I have been planning this particular ability for some time now. While it's great that he's not dead, by no means is he immortal. That would just be cheating. I'm still at odds with myself with deciding the aftereffects. After all, when a Sharingan user performs Izanagi that eye goes blind, which is a pretty high price to pay considering how useful even one Sharingan is (Just look at Kakashi).

But then I look forwards and realize that it can't be anything major, since Sai's already going to have problems with a jealous Orochimaru trying to figure out how it works and he can get something like that for himself.

Thank you for reviewing! You lot have no idea of how much I appreciate it! :)


	16. Bonds of the Spirit: Part Two

Here we are again, with a very lucky update- turns out that my town had to be evacuated, and while my windows were done in my computer was absolutely fine. So thus I can get to work on this right away.

Alright, we all know that the obvious stars of Konoha's invasion by Pein are Naruto and Nagato. So I needed someplace for Deidara and Sai to sit quietly that wasn't the Akatsuki lair (Staying any longer would have been a fatal mistake) and wasn't Konoha either... and what was better than to hang out with Sasuke?

**Bonds of the Spirit: **

**Part Two: Not the same**

* * *

Iruka's feet dragged on the dewy grass and he yawned. The stars were winking out, one by one, as the grey light in one corner of the dark sky slowly grew and lightened. He never had to get up this early for his classes. A pang of regret shook him, and he stopped in his tracks. In a few hours, he would have been standing at his desk, calling out names for attendance. A chorus of young voices would answer him, and he'd have to scan the crowd, looking for empty seats. He remembered each and every face clearly, like the children were right in front of him. Every single one of them had the makings of a fine, determined shinobi. Every single one bore the Will of Fire.

_'Don't think like that!' _Iruka scolded himself, and continued walking. _'You can still help pass on the Will of Fire, like it always was your dream to do. You just need to see this through with every ounce of determination and strength you have.'_

"Hello, Iruka-sensei! You're looking very youthful today!" A voice boomed from over by the training posts. Iruka sighed and passed a hand over his face. Maybe he should reconsider. But then again, Gai _was_ one of the greatest taijutsu masters in all of Konoha.

"Iruka will be just fine, Gai." The chunin said tiredly, rubbing his eyes. He had never felt less youthful in his life, just being a few days out of the hospital and awake at five in the morn. He heard an owl hoot in the distance, audible even over the murmur of the summertime crickets. Sticking his hands in his pockets and leaning against a post, he let his posture go slack and tone become casual. "What are we doing today?"

"Aha! You are truly Kakashi's ally!" Gai groaned. "I was afraid that you'd follow in the footsteps of my eternal rival... You are too cool, Iruka, too cool!" Iruka was about to protest, but Gai cut him off. "What a pity... But now it is my chance to steal you! Yes! With the help of Lee and I, then you shall be the perfect-"

"Lee? Rock Lee?" Iruka interrupted.

"Indeed, my new young student!" Gai exclaimed. "Today, you shall be taught by Lee! I consider this a big step in his training, as well as a great beginning to yours!"

Iruka was about to ask where the boy was before a battle cry answered his unspoken question.

"Dyynamiccc... entrryyyyy!" Iruka whipped around, and just managed to duck in time as Lee sailed over his head with one leg outstretched. Taking up position by his teacher, the eager Lee nodded vigorously. "Yes! I hope that I can live up to Gai-sensei's expectations and be as good of a teacher to you as he is to me!

* * *

The first thing Sai noticed was the smell. The acrid, bitter smell of various antiseptics. Hearing no other noise than his own breathing, he opened his eyes and saw a small, white-walled room with similarly painted shelves and cabinets. Taking all of this in in an instant, Sai yawned and closed his eyes again. For some reason, his mind was urgently telling him to get up, move, to get out of there right that instant. But he was warm and drowsy. Surely he could sleep a little longer.

The door at the far end of the room creaked open. No sooner had it moved than a tall man with long black hair glided in. Sai glanced sleepily at the stranger, then did a double take. Golden, slit-pupiled eyes glittered at him with clear amusement. He tried to sit up, but something restricted his movements. Gleaming metal bands were strapping him in place, holding down his waist, wrists, and ankles.

"Already aware of the situation, head following my every movement. Pretty good for someone who is supposed to be dead." Orochimaru drew closer. "Apparently the caster of that intriguing jutsu had so much chakra, some kept transferring to you to heal your wounds even after you had died."

Sai's mouth was dry. Normally he would keep a poker face with the toughest enemy interrogators. But even he could look at Orochimaru and tell that there was something not quite right with the man.

"How do you know this? He asked. No point in beating around the bush; he could tell that Orochimaru was well-informed and not lying. It soon became apparent that Sai had said the wrong thing. Orochimaru's eyes lit up.

"Oh, you wouldn't _believe _how hard it was to get that blonde friend of yours to say anything. But with the right persuasion..." The Sannin noted with pleasure how Sai's fingers curled tightly into a fist, "...we heard enough."

Sai took a deep breath, successfully calming the unnatural flare of anger within him _'Deidara should be alright for now; all I can do is press for information.'_

"What are you going to do to him?"

Orochimaru shook his head. "He's staying where he is right now, in one of the cells down this hallway. I admit, I've wanted to study that kekkai genkai of his for a while now. But in light of recent events, I've postponed his, ah, appointments." He came even closer, and looked down at Sai. A long, pale hand reached down and idly fingered a lock of Sai's black hair. It had become very long- a few inches past his shoulders, by then.

"You're quite the different boy from when I first met you." Orochimaru said airily. "But ever since then, I've always admired you, in a way. You're so much like one of my most favourite creatures: the snake. They're cold and emotionless killers, just like you... but on the other hand, they're cool and refined, with such _artistic _patterns on their scales." Orochimaru's fingers traveled down Sai's face to his neck and traced the scar that rested there. "And now that you're here, I've put aside all other appointments to carry out the plans I had for you from the beginning. Oh, don't worry," he added upon seeing the infintesimal change in Sai's expression. "By the time I'm done with you, you won't feel a thing."

* * *

The afternoon sun shone brightly through a network of leaves. Birds flitted to and fro, commenting on all the park-goers who were taking advantage of one of the last golden days of summer. A group of quietly conversing sparrows suddenly took fright and flew away, just barely avoiding three intruders.

"I've got an idea!" Naruto announced as he landed on the tree branch, then leaped again. Sakura glanced at him.

"Well, let's hear it." she replied. "Though I doubt it'll be any good..."

Naruto continued unfazed. "Y'know how they go on missions and stuff? Well, I bet that we can find him on a mission! Then there'll be only two of them, and Kakashi-sensei said that his partner might be on our side now, since he also let me live when I was fighting him that last time, so we can just grab the both of 'em and go-"

"Hold on, Naruto." Kakashi's calm voice interjected from behind the conversing duo. "I never said that the Akatsuki bomber was good friends with Konoha now. Keep in mind that letter sending could have had a very different meaning. It might have been a trap of sorts for all we know."

"Well, still, it's a possibility!" Naruto said defensively.

"Kakashi's right, Naruto." Sakura said. "And how are we supposed to find two people in the entire world without any clues? There's nothing we can do right now but hope that Sai's okay."

The anger in Naruto's eyes faded, and he looked down at the swiftly passing ground. "Well, I suppose so." He muttered, then his head raised again, with a fierce determination shining in his blue eyes. "But that doesn't mean we're giving up on him!"

Sakura couldn't help smiling at him when she saw that determination. It was so strong and sure, she just _knew_ that they would find Sai and somehow, bring him back alive and well. They would be a foursome again; they would be Team Seven. Sai would be teasing Naruto about having a small penis, she would be holding Naruto back, Sai would call her ugly, and then both the boys would get slapped. Kakashi would again be baffled as Naruto and Sai show up for practice yet again nursing some bruises. Then, of course, Ino would go and walk Sai back to his apartment, though the boy never understood why. She smiled wider at the memory. He was so clueless, so innocent.

Then they were in front of the Hokage's building and she was abruptly brought back to attention as Naruto stopped right in front of her, causing Sakura to crash into him at full speed. A few minutes and a few weak attempts by Kakashi to stop the chaos later, they were heading up to the Hokage's office.

Naruto and Sakura, followed by the perpetually bored-looking Kakashi, opened the door. A faint whining reached their ears; Akamaru was lying in front of the Hokage's desk, looking dejected. As they entered, the great shaggy head raised and he gazed at them with soulful brown eyes. The nin-dog heaved a doggy sigh and let his head sink back down onto his paws once more after the precursory inspection.

"Hiya, granny Tsunade." Naruto stole a curious glance at Akamaru. "What's up? Got some news on Sai?"

"We also were wondering if we could see his letter again." Sakura piped up. Her green eyes flickered torward Akamaru, thoughts the same as Naruto's: _'What's he doing here?' _

"Unfortunately, it's still being analyzed by an information unit. However, I called you here on a different matter. Inuzaka Kiba has been reported missing after an encounter with Sound shinobi. Akamaru here escaped, and after some helpful translation from Kiba's mother's nin-dog Kuromaru, it was determined that Kiba had ordered Akamaru to escape before being captured." Tsunade saw Naruto's angry expression and hastened to continue. Her fingers steepled and formed a resting place for her chin. "We may enlist Akamaru to track him, but I normally would get an ANBU team to do that. The reason I called you three here is because there's a high possibility that Kiba is being held in one of Orochimaru's hideouts. That means if we find Kiba, we might also find Sasuke."

The name, so candidly dropped, had the expected effect. Kakashi remained composed, Sakura's eyes began to glisten, and Naruto's knuckles whitened.

"We'll do it." Naruto forced the words out through clenched teeth. "Tsunade. You can count on us to get this mission right. And this time, we won't fail to bring Sasuke back."

"You have to go train first, Naruto." she cautioned. "Only after you show me the results of this training with Jiraiya's toad will I let you take this mission on. The same goes for you, Sakura. I expect you in my office tommorow at sunrise. We're going to try a new step in your training."

"Right." Sakura nodded. "We'll become so strong, that Sasuke-kun will have to come back with us!"

Kakashi flipped open to a random page of _Icha Icha: Paradise_ while his team actively discussed plans with Tsunade, but his eye didn't read the enticing words on the pages. _'Funny how it goes.'_ He thought idly. _'I could have sworn they had said _Sai_ when talking about who to bring back._

* * *

Deidara shifted position on the hard, cold stone floor. He felt weak, far weaker than he had ever felt before, and that damned constant ache in his chest didn't help in the slightest. Oh, Kabuto had healed his wound nicely, but that was only so he and the damned snake could torture him for information. He barely remembered what had happened; he just hoped that he hadn't given away too much damned stuff. These damned manacles didn't help either. They chafed his wrists and ankles, and the baggy khaki shirt and shorts he had been given didn't do a damn thing to keep out the chill.

He gave a short, bitter sigh. "Damn this all, mm." he muttered. To cap it all, his ponytail had come undone, and now too much blonde hair kept falling into the part of his face he always kept uncovered. Deidara closed his weary blue eyes. _'Sai's taking a while...'_ His thoughts trailed off. _'Hope nothing's happening...'_

A sharp clanging noise awoke him. Shaking his head wildly, Deidara realized that he had fallen asleep. Sleep was a godsend in that dirty cell, but he couldn't appreciate it- not when he realized that he had a new cellmate. He looked over and felt a pang of dissapointment shake him when he saw it wasn't Sai- just some young guy around Sai's age with spiky brown hair that _really_ needed a brush. The last thing he needed was a kid slowing down his future escape attempts.

"Who are you?" He demanded. Red markings on the cheeks- Inuzaka clan, Deidara surmised. He never had held much respect for that particular clan ever since he had started studying Konoha's workings. To him, it was just a bunch of unartistic and uncultured brats rolling around with the dogs. The kid's head shot up. Confused eyes quickly narrowed and pointed teeth were bared.

"What the hell?" The newcomer snarled. "Oh, come on, Kiba! You _always_ get the worst of it. Thrown in the only cell with an Akatsuki dope in it! Dunno how you landed here, but sure as _hell _I'm not going to stick around."

"Well, try leaving and see what happens, mm." Deidara was bad-tempered by now. He flicked away a stray stand of hair that had fallen in front of his nose, tickling it. "Not that you could in the first place. Me, on the other hand- I just need some clay, and then- _boom_! A beautiful explosion, your sorry doggy ass in pieces, and me running free, mm!"

"No guesses as to which one _you_ are." Kiba said disgustedly. "Explosion? Clay? You might as well ask the snake for a back massage."

Deidara gave a faint snort of laughter despite himself. "From what Sasori-danna told me about him, I'd say the chances of an intimate back massage are pretty high."

"My, you're well informed." Kiba shot back. "Bet you're dying for that massage, _miss_."

"You shut it, mm!" Deidara growled.

"That blonde hair looks really becoming on you." Kiba said sarcastically. "Mind if I braid it? Pigtails, maybe?"

Looking back, Deidara could only guess at how it happened. All the stress of the past month, having built up in strength, crashed down on him at that exact moment: the combined stress of worrying about Sai, brooding over Raidan, reconsidering his ties to Akatsuki. All of that had hung over his head on a thin thread. Now this annoying kid hurling insults at him provided that scissors that cut the thread, making Deidara snap. "That's it, you fucking son of a-" His words were lost as he lunged forwards.

Just as Deidara began his lunge, Kiba had leaped to meet him, clawed hands outstretched, ready to take a swipe at the bomber. Just as they were within striking range of each other, the chains pulled taut, causing both of them to fall backwards and crash simultaneously.

Grumbling softly to himself and rubbing his backside Deidara sat up.

"Don't make me go Hidan on you." He threatened. "I seriously bet I could break these chains if I really wanted and give you a battle you wouldn't forget, mm."

"Which reminds me, just what was the deal with giving out that letter? Just another devious plan to help your buddies destroy Konoha?" Kiba brushed dust off of his own khaki prisoner's shirt in a failed effort to make it any less dirty than it already was.

"Our ultimate goal is not to destroy Konoha, though personally I don't care about your damned village. And how do you know about the letter in the first place? It seems like every bastard and bitch on the street knows about it now, mm! What's the point of a secret message if it isn't secret?" Deidara returned heatedly. The mention of Sai's letter momentarily made him forget about the petty fight and return to worring about his missing companion. _'Sai, my man, where the hell are you?'_ He thought, unconsciously biting his lip. _'I swear, if Orochimaru does anything, I'm not leaving this place without seeing him dead.'_

"But then, if you knew it was going to help Konoha, why did you deliver it in the first place?" Kiba pressed.

Deidara suddenly quieted. He looked down at his bare feet.

"Because Sai asked me to." he said simply.

Kiba blinked. He had been expecting a lot of answers, but not anything like that. "Suure." he scoffed. "He just _asked_ you to, and you did it, just cause you guys are such good buddies, huh?" The tone was bitingly sarcastic, moreso than before.

"There's nothing to it, mm. He asked me to, and I did it." Deidara repeated, in the same soft voice, still not meeting Kiba's eyes. The Inuzaka boy's insult died on his lips, and he slowly found himself losing his fighting posture. His shoulders slumped, and he studied the blonde before him with a faint curiosity. Kiba had an animal's instinct as well as senses, and he could sense that Deidara was being honest.

"Er..." His words faded away. "You... Sai... are you really..."

There was an awkward silence.

"Hm?" Deidara still was avoiding his gaze.

"Friends?" Kiba squeaked. "No, he's a prisoner. You don't give a shit about Konoha, you don't care about Sai, you only care about yourself and your stupid organization..." His words became a rambling stream of noise. _'What are you trying to do, reassure yourself?'_ Kiba's inner voice said slyly.

"Yeah, that's right. I don't care, mm." Deidara said half-heartedly. He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, effectively ending the conversation. But Kiba continued to watch him, trying to figure out what truly lay behind the tired face. Seemingly an hour passed, but in reality it was only ten minutes.

That's when the screaming started. Deidara's eyes flew open and he stood up so fast he nearly fell back down again from the vertigo. Kiba was up as well, staring out through the bars.

"Oh, my god!" Kiba gasped. His face paled; he recognized the voice all too well, having heard it many times back in Konoha, back when everything was relatively normal. "Is that _Sai_?" When Deidara didn't answer, he looked his way. Deidara's eyes were wide and staring. The chains were strained to the fullest as the man leaned forward, clutching at the bars of the cell like his life depended on it.

"Sai!" Deidara yelled out, but there was no answer. More screams rolled down the hallway, and Kiba inwardly cursed his acute hearing. "Bastards, stop it! I'm going to fucking blow up your fucking heads!" Breathing hard, he whipped around and stalked back, overcome with fury which soon turned to despair. Deidara clapped his hands over his ears, sinking to the ground. "Please, make it stop." he whispered. "You're hurting him. Stop..."

Kiba looked at Deidara with alarm. One minute, the man was yelling, the next, he looked like he was going to have a breakdown. Gritting his teeth, he sat as close to Deidara as the chains' lengths would let him and unsuccessfully blocked out the horrible noise. He tried to focus on Deidara's reaction.

_'Either he really cares about Sai, or he's just a pansy.'_ Kiba was forced to admit that out of the two options, the former was more likely. Whether he liked it or not, Deidara had more to him than he had first thought, and he needed to adjust his actions accordingly if he really was a friend of Sai's.

* * *

"That was wonderful, Iruka-sensei!" Lee shouted excitedly. "Now, take a one-minute break and we shall start handstand push ups!"

Iruka rolled his eyes as he got back to his feet after showing that he had mastered the basic handstands. "Lee, technically you're the sensei here. You can just call me Iruka, all right?"

"Yosh, Iruka-sensei!" Lee said brightly. Giving another eyeroll, Iruka shook his arms and did a few basic stretches to loosen up once more. The soft, springy grass made for a comfortable landing whenever he lost his balance, but after a while doing handstands you became sore no matter how soft the ground was. He exhaled long and slow, then stretched out his hands and flipped his legs into the air, expertly balancing. The next part was trickier. Under Lee's direction, Iruka adjusted his hands and bent his elbows, bringing his whole body down and then up again.

"Watch your form, sensei!" Lee cautioned, running an expert eye over the not-so-straight knees. Iruka quickly straightened his legs once more and did another handstand pushup.

"One... two... three..." The chunin muttered. Soon the numbers were gasped out. Much more weight was on the arms now than with a regular pushup, and he spent extra energy in trying to stay upright. "S-six... s-seven..." Iruka tried to take another breath. But as he did so, sharp pangs shot up from his chest, and his arms gave out from under him. Iruka curled up in a tight ball, squeezing his eyes shut as he tightly wrapped his arms around his body. His heart emitted a sharp pain with every pulse.

"Iruka-sensei!" Rock Lee cried in alarm, and kneeled by him with concern in his huge eyes. "Are you okay?"

Breath wheezing in his throat, Iruka nodded and stood on wobbly feet.

"I'm alright. My heart just pained me for a moment there, but it's fine now." _'Dang, Tsunade was right when she said I'd never really recover...'_

His young teacher hesitated. "We can stop for the day if you want. You did great!"

"No!" Iruka shook his head vehemently. "I'm not going to stop just because of a little discomfort. I made a choice to train with you and Gai to try and get over my new disability. Either I give it all of my effort or nothing. Don't try and make me give up now."

A huge grin spread over Rock Lee's face. "I knew Gai-sensei made the right choice in agreeing to take you on! Our faith in you is unshakable, Iruka-sensei! Let us continue!"

* * *

"Kiba, right?" The soft question startled Kiba out of his reverie. He jerked back to wakefulness.

"Huh?" He looked over to his left and turned around. Deidara was looking at him, appearing marginally more friendly than earlier.

"I asked if that was your name or not, mm." Deidara said, slightly testily now that he had to repeat it.

"Oh, right. Yeah, I'm Inuzaka Kiba." He couldn't believe it. Here he was, exchanging niceties with an Akatsuki member. "What's your name?"

"Deidara." There was no last name given; Kiba wasn't sure if the man even knew it in the first place. "Whats your dog's name?"

"Akamaru, and he's not just a dog. He's my best friend in the whole world." Deidara was about to make a snide comment when he saw the wistfulness in Kiba's almond-shaped eyes.

"You really miss him, mm." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

"Yeah..." Kiba let the sentence hang. He wasn't in the mood to talk about Akamaru now, not when there was little hope of ever seeing his partner again. "Say, do you-"

Footsteps sounded in the hallway, echoeing several times to make it impossible to tell how many people were coming. A tall, menacing figure appeared at the door to their cell, and with the twist of a key unlocked it.

"Finally decided to slither by, Orochimaru?" Deidara spat.

Kiba felt a shiver as the skin near the creepy golden eyes crinkled in a smile. The feeling intensified as the predatory gaze flickered his way, then back to Deidara.

"Oh, don't be so hostile, Deidara-kun." Orochimaru's voice could only bring to mind a snake slithering over damp and slimy leaves. It was oddly entracing, but at the same time repulsive and frightening. "I went to the trouble of bringing a visitor to see you, one that you'd like to see very much."

Deidara's next words caught in his throat as Sai stepped out from behind Orochimaru. He was dressed like a typical Orochimaru acolyte, his black cotton ensemble replaced by a pale robe, partially open at the chest, tied with a thick purple rope. Despite a large scar on his throat where Sasuke had stabbed him, Sai didn't appear to be injured... then Deidara's gaze found his face.

Two horribly mismatched eyes were looking calmly back at him. One black, one as golden and slit-pupiled as a snake's. A neat, straight scar ran through the golden eye, also passing through faint purple markings. Sai's ink-black hair had been brushed, so now it fell past his shoulders reminiscent to Orochimaru's own hair, framing a face narrowed by long days of hunger.

"No..." Deidara breathed. Orochimaru had gone and done the unthinkable.

"Not the same as when you last saw him, eh? He does look a bit like me, doesn't he." The Sannin said, delighted with the shocked expression on Deidara's face. "I was looking for a faithful subordinate for some while now. Ah, but don't say this to Kabuto. The poor lad might take it wrongly. I value Kabuto's assistance _very_ highly. But I wanted someone to toy with, to see effects a miniscule amount of my DNA would have upon another body so I could further my own jutsu. It didn't sit very well with Sai here's body, but in the end, things straightened out."

Deidara couldn't comprehend the magnitude of Orochimaru's actions. It was too abhorrent, too apalling to even try and imagine. "Sai." He said weakly, but his voice gained in strength. "Can you hear me, mm? Are you alright?"

There was no reply. Sai's gaze was oddly blank.

Deidara tried again. "Hey, Sai. It's me, Deidara. Remember? All those times we practed together... art contests... y'know. Tell me you're alright, okay? Just say one word. Don't you remember me?" When there still was no answer, his voice became pleading. _'No... please, please just say this isn't happening...'_ "Please, Sai, just answer me, mm! What did the slimy son of a bitch do to you? Sai. Sai! SAI!" The last word was yelled out in desperation.

Sai stared at him impassively. There was no flicker of recognition in his gaze, and at this final stroke Deidara felt hot tears of frustration and despair well up in his eyes. Furious with himself, he tried to blink them away, only to have the drops roll down his dirty cheeks.

Kiba's mouth hung open at the sight. He found his tongue, and his voice was loud and furious.

"Turn him back to normal, or else I'll tear your throat out." he threatened, flexing his claws. Orochimaru spared him a glance and a raised eyebrow, then remained fixed on Kiba, as if examining him. Kiba suddenly felt very uncomfortable and wished he had never spoken out. There was some devious thought dawning in those eyes, something that told him _You're next._

"Oh, I didn't do anything really major. Besides that little expirement, I just returned Sai to how he used to be. I returned him to before he became a part of Team Seven, before he began making _friends_ and having _feelings_. I returned him to when he had complete and undying loyalty to his superior- which, in the absence of that cunning old fox Danzō, has become me."

* * *

Orochimaru laid a hand upon Sai's shoulder.

"Come along now, _Sai_." He said sweetly, practically purring the name. As Orochimaru locked the cell door and set off down the dark hallway with Sai in tow, the boy breathed an inner sigh of relief. It had taken all of his self-control not to reveal himself right then and there, when Deidara had begged him to say a word. But if they were ever to escape, he needed Orochimaru to think that he was completely subservient.

_'Still... it's not going to be easy... at times, I feel like I'm not even myself anymore, just a watcher in my own body. I don't know...' _Sai refrained from wincing as Orochimaru's nails dug into his shoulder, turning him into a right-hand passage. _'I don't know if I can keep this up...'_

* * *

Notes: I wanted to ask if I should still include the going-ons of Konoha. I think it adds nice background and some necessary comic relief, but I know that it can also be distracting from the main storyline and might ruin the mood of a particularly serious moment. But by god, I used so much exclamation marks in this chapter due to Gai and Rock Lee, and they're so much fun to write! Those two are my models, and the power of youth is infectious. I think, at least, I'll have them stick around ;)

I know you're all thinking, 'okay, uh, _Kiba?_' but I assure you that there's a reason to the madness. For one, he's a pretty cool guy, with just the right temperament that I needed for a cell buddy. For another point, it's easier to find a missing shinobi's trail when they've left behind a pining nin-dog.

Ahh, Naruto and Sakura can be so cruel. But that's keeping them in character, I think. They're all over Sasuke.

Hope this long chapter made up for the long wait! Thank you for the reviews in the previous chapter- It'll still be difficult writing this arc, but it's nice feeling like it wasn't a total failure to begin with.


	17. Bonds of the Spirit: Part Three

The ending of the last chapter may have been an uplifter, but I'm afraid it's just not that easy to fool Orochimaru.

Congratulations to anyone who spots the allusion in this chapter to an awesome anime! ^^ I had to include it when I saw the chance.

**Bonds of the Spirit: Part Three**

**Identity**

* * *

_**(A/N~ Timeskip: It's been a few weeks by now after the last chapter.)**_

Sai could not help looking around when he first entered the cavernous room. The walls loomed to great heights, and a distant ceiling supported many candlelit chandeliers. On the walls, however, sturdy lanterns were employed, each in a slight niche on its own and shielded with thick glass. Long wooden tables stretched from one end of room to the other, with benches to match. The room was currently occupied by around thirty randomly spaced individuals, all of them wearing the same robes as he. Plates and silverware were laid out before them. Chatter and occasional rough barks of laughter filled the air.

_'To all appearances, it's a normal dinnertime scene.' _he thought, scanning the faces of the diners. Some of them looked normal enough. Others were clearly very familiar with the laboratories, possessing odd mutations and disfigured features.

Shouting. A pitiful cry. Sai's head turned, his eyes resting on one large man kicking a smaller one. The bully sported a tall dark green mohawk, and his body up to his neck was covered in what appeared to be alligator scales. What was unusual, however, was the wooden katana he carried at his waist when his claws could deal far more damage. The small man- _'No, boy,_' Sai realized, was only around ten years of age. However, this could only be told from the young voice. His dark brown hair was intertwined with strands of grey, and as he peered closer he saw wrinkles on the scrunched-up face. Sai normally would have intervened, but he needed to keep his cover. Staying in the shadows by the doorway, he watched as the alligator-like man delivered a particularly vicious kick to the kid's stomach. The heartwrenching cry of pain reached Sai's ears, and a slow smile spread over his pale face. The black eye remained as emotionless as ever, but the golden eye glinted, reflecting the slight feeling of satisfaction Sai felt upon hearing that cry.

Then Sai realized just what he was doing, and immediately clapped a hand to his face, eyes wide. A sick feeling began to form in the pit of his stomach, and he shook his head, repulsed with himself. Why was he _enjoying_ someone else's distress?

_'It's Orochimaru.'_ he thought bleakly. _'I'm too weak to hold even a tiny bit of him back. But I have to try. I have to.' _

Straightening, he resumed his nonchalant expression and started walking torwards the alligator-skinned man. His footsteps were noiseless, but the man still sensed him coming and glared his way.

"What the fuck do you..." The words died on his lips. Sai stopped, and gave him a little fake smile. At that, the huge scaly man took a step backwards. His companions, who had been sitting at his table and applauding him, suddenly stopped clapped and stared at Sai with fearful expectancy.

_'Who the hell is this kid?'_ he wondered nervously. _'Damnit, why are my knees shaking? He's just like Orochimaru-sama, but his smile...' _

"S-sorry." Alligator man stuttered at last. "I'll leave him alone if it bothers you..."

"I didn't say that you had to stop." Sai said pleasantly. "I simply wondered if I could sit at your table for dinner, Alligator-kun."

"Oh... um... yeah! Of course. Name's Gin. The silver perm is Toki, the redhead is Karin. This shrimp here's got no name." Gin gave the boy another kick and sat down heavily on a bench.

Sai directed his smile at the entire group now as he sat next to Gin. "My name is Sai."

Toki gave a sharp-toothed grin, but Sai noted that it was a nervous one, and his small reddish amber eyes darted from left to right with annoying frequency. "You must be a helluva guy, Sai-san. The last person that called Gin 'Alligator-kun' got beat to a pulp."

"Shut up!" Gin retorted, his face beet red. "I just... wasn't in the mood to fight after I had my fun with shrimpy!"

Sai gave a little chuckle as the two began to argue, but he wasn't fooled. _'They're obviously afraid of me. Toki-kun used an honorific that you wouldn't normally use when addressing a younger comrade who just joined up.' _He used this time while the other two were engaged in a heated argument to study the last member of the trio. She was younger than him, but only about a year younger. Her reddish-pink eyes were fixed on his face, but they were distant, filled with a vague horror.

"Your chakra..." she muttered. Sai raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, Karin-san?" The words somehow managed to be questioning and flat at the same time. Gin and Toki stopped fighting upon hearing Sai speak, then looked over at Karin.

"Oh, Karin can read people's chakra." Gin said offhandedly, then frowned, his eyebrows beetling. "But she's never looked like this before." He reached out a large paw of a hand and tapped Karin's shoulder. "Oi, Karin-chan! Back to earth!"

Karin blinked, then turned away. "Like Orochimaru-sama's, but not Orochimaru-sama's; only a little bit like his, but enough, enough. A strong base, it must have once been yours, but it's threaded with a dark, overshadowing strain that gives me the chills." The girl shuddered visibly, and abruptly stood up to leave. "Sorry, guys." Her voice was back to normal. "I must return to my work... subjects to test and all..."

Three different gazes stared after her until her form vanished through a dark doorway.

"Wow." Toki muttered. "You _are_ some helluva guy. What'd she mean by mentioning that your chakra was like Orochimaru-sama's?"

Sai simply looked at him. Toki's face slowly grew paler and paler, while his eyes became rounder and rounder. "Are you his... y'know... his..." Gin understood what Toki was trying to say, and he fidgeted in his chair, waiting on tenterhooks.

"His?" Sai prompted tonelessly.

"His..." Toki trailed off, unwilling to say what he really thought. Finally Sai decided to spare him any further discomfort.

"No, I'm not related to Orochimaru-sama at all." The honorific felt like slime on his tongue as he said it. "I'm simply one of his more favourite expiriments."

"Tch." There was a soft, derisive snort, but it seemed like everyone had heard it. All heads turned to face the figure that was slowly and decisively approaching Sai's group. All talk died away as the wild-haired boy drew closer. "Thanks to you, Orochimaru isn't training me. He's become obsessed with finding opponents for you to fight, so he can test out your skills. You're weak. You don't need _testing_."

"It's not my fault that Orochimaru-sama likes me better than you." Sai said evenly. Sasuke's lips turned down in a small frown.

"Cut the crap. You're not Orochimaru's favourite- or you won't be after I let him see the difference between my power and yours." Sasuke's intimidating Sharingan-red eyes bored into Sai's indifferent ones. Suddenly, his arm shot out, lifting Sai out of his chair by the collar of his robe. "You stand up when you talk to me!" he snarled.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun." Sai said, not bothering to disentangle himself from the tight grip. His words were mild in tone, but absolutely the wrong things to say at the moment. "I didn't want to stand up because I didn't want to make you feel any shorter than you already are."

Toki and Gin gaped at Sai, who was smiling serenly. Sasuke's face aquired an interesting shade of pink. It was true- Sai stood about two inches taller than the former Konoha shinobi, due to being older by a year and a half than his former comrades of the same generation. Danzō, having no one of the exact age in Root, chose the next best member to fill in Sasuke's place on Team Seven. Sasuke's fingers tightened on Sai's robe. He pulled Sai closer to him, forcing the other to look into his eyes.

Sai began to feel lightheaded. _'What's this?'_ he wondered. _'Why does he have four eyes? Six? Eight? Can't tell... they're spinning...'_ A wave of darkness covered his vision, and he felt himself falling, falling... landing with a hard _thump_ on an invisible surface. Sai got unsteadily to his feet and looked around. He appeared to be in the midst of a swirling mass of lines. They undulated constantly and swiftly, making one dizzy after mere seconds of looking at them. One line suddenly stiffened, then began coiling up. changing colours as it did so. It wound itself in a complex pattern, forming feet, legs, a body that wore a familiar cut-off black jacket, a full head of thick white hair and big charcoal-coloured eyes.

Shin straightened, and noticed Sai standing in shock.

"Sai...onii-chan?" Shin muttered. "What are you doing here?"

Sai couldn't speak. His eyes took in the sight of his adoptive brother hungrily, absorbing the image of him standing severel metres in front of him, large as life.

"You don't belong here, Sai-niichan." Shin smiled sadly. "You can't stay long while I remain."

"No- I'll come with you, nii-san." Sai protested. He took a step forward, but Shin shook his head and retreated a step backwards. Sai halted, confused. "Nii-san?"

"You always were following me everywhere, nii-chan." Shin rasped, voice growing faint. "Would you follow me into hell?"

Sai ran forward, catching Shin in his arms just as the white-haired boy's knees gave out from under him. "Why are you dying, Shin?" He asked, voice shaky. "Are you going to leave me alone again?"

Deadened black eyes, once so full of life and laughter, were as emotionless as the words that issued Shin's voice then. "You always were alone, Sai." As Sai stared at him in utter shock, the boy began to fade away, body becoming translucent, and then transparent. Sai remained kneeling on the ground, staring at the hands that had held his dying brother for the second time now, when Shin's voice sounded from behind him.

"You always were alone. You'll always _be_ alone." Sai's head turned slowly around, as if he were afarid of what he would see. Shin was standing there again, alive once more, but he swayed on his feet as if he were about to fall any moment. More and more lines gathered behind him, their shapes twisting into a crowd of people. Bit by bit, Sai saw the faces of the people he knew. Some of them were still alive, some of them should have been dead, but they were all dying. They tottered torward him on skinny legs, faces emaciated, twisted into gruesome expressions. Sai's eyes were as round as the moon. He began to retreat. They kept coming.

_'Sasuke...'_

The eerie voice was the faintest whisper, but it reverbrated through the air. Sai paid it no need.

_'Sasuke...!'_ It came again, more insistent this time, more crowd was almost upon him now- Shin was reaching out with a decaying hand, having died and and reborn again for the fourth time. He was little more than skin and bones now. Sai squeezed his eyes shut. Something grabbed his shoulder and pushed him away, making him stumble and fall.

"Sasuke!" The voice repeated for the third time. Orochimaru looked down at Sai, who was sitting on the ground as if expecting to be hit, his eyes closed in anticipation of the blow. "What are you doing to poor Sai-kun here?"

"Just practicing." Sasuke replied coldly. "Orochimaru. You said that you'd train me today. I'm still waiting."

"Oh, I know how much you _hate _to be kept waiting, Sasuke-kun." The crooning, pacifying note that Orochimaru sometimes used to tease Sasuke was back. "But really, the lad looks off. Please don't try to undo all my hard work and mess up my experiment. We don't want his emotions coming back now, do we?" He punctuated his statement with a short laugh, and bent down to tap Sai on the shoulder, completely ignoring Sasuke. "Sai-kun. Wakey wakey. I have a special surprise for you."

Sai's eyelids fluttered open. He regained his footing and stood up, looking at Orochimaru with eyes as blank as ever.

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama?" He queried. The snake Sannin's mouth curled upwards.

"That's a good boy!" Orochimaru praised him. "I knew that I did an excellent job on you. Now, about that surprise- you'll enjoy it very much, I should think. I know that _I _would enjoy it." More laughter. Sai gave a small smile, looking over Orochimaru's shoulder. Sasuke was glaring daggers at him. His Sharingan eyes were gone for the moment, making the glare a little bit less intimidating. Sai stretched his smile a little wider just to annoy his counterpart. He still took a small measure of satisfaction in annoying other people. Sasuke remained glaring at him as Orochimaru led Sai out of the room, the latter following him like a dog followed its master.

* * *

The boy in the orange jumpsuit was easy to spot among the grey rubble of what used to be Konohagakure. He was sitting on a small boulder, staring at the destruction for hours on end. Millions of thoughts raced through his head, but the boy wasn't sure of any of them. Behind him, one of Konoha's specialized jonin stalked up, a huge, scarred black dog following her.

"Naruto." Her voice was sharp. "Tsunade said that you'd be recovered by now. Have you given it any thought?"

"Yeah." Naruto's voice was unusually despondent. Tsume waited for more answers, but when none were forthcoming her voice became impatient.

"How long are you planning on sitting here?" she demanded. "The rest of your team is already ready! How much longer can you just sit and do nothing, while others- while my son suffers!"

The dead look in Naruto's eyes did not vanish as he turned to meet her furious gaze.

"Until Sasuke comes back."

There was a very loud silence.

"Excuse me?" Tsume's tone became low and dangerous. She thurst her face forward, making Naruto flinch and strive to avoid her furious gaze. "You're sitting here waiting for a _traitor_ to come back? You're the hero of Konoha now! You can't just sit around and do nothing while others- while my _son _suffers! You're supposed to put the people of the village first, and then ex-friends! Kiba's your friend too, isn't he?" Slowly, Naruto raised his eyes to hers and nodded. "Then how would you feel if Sasuke killed him and you didn't do a thing about it?"

"I'd hate myself." Naruto said quietly. His downcast expression was gradually vanishing.

Tsume's face became marginally less fierce. "That's what I thought."

With a grunt, Naruto heaved himself to his feet. "Okay, Tsume-san. I'm ready now. Let's go save your son."

* * *

Many sets of sharp teeth gnawed hungrily on bones. Odd-looking dogs of all breeds barked at each other, yipped, and snarled in the dim lighting of the kennels. Occasionally, some of Orochimuaru's scientists would take one of these dogs away for personal study and expirimentation, but it was rare that any of them participated in major projects. Mostly, it was a lowly caretaker who was given the dangerous task of feeding these beasts.

Kiba looked halfheartedly at the clean white bone laid before him. At first, he had refused to eat the scraps of meat on it. But after his stomach began to protest, he had gingerly begun nibbling on the bone, noting that the meat didn't taste like anything he ever had before, but was strangely familiar nonetheless. Now, licking his lips, he was staring at the chewed clean limb and wishing for more.

_'Hell, what am I thinking?' _Kiba wrenched his gaze away from the bone. _'What did they do, turn me into a cannibal?'_ Just as the thought crossed his mind, his left shoulder muscles gave a painful twinge. Kiba winced and looked down at the top of his left shoulder, where the shirt had slid down to reveal a brand new curse seal among several new scars. The squiggly black lines taunted him, constantly weighing on his mind about what the seal would do if activated. He hoped that he'd never find out. And to double the indignity, he had been tossed into these kennels. Not that he minded dogs, of course, but these creatures didn't deserve to be called canines. When Kiba had tried to communicate with them, he simply got unintelligable howls in response. At least Deidara could speak with him in a language he understood.

_'He's not actually that bad.'_ Kiba reflected, fingering the new chain-link collar around his neck. It was one of those models designed for rabid dogs- that if you pulled one end hard and sharply, the collar would constrict around the offending dog's neck _'Sure, we had some arguments. But he seems like a decent enough guy to me, leaving the Akatsuki like that. And Sai trusts him. That's good enough for me.'_

An increase in the howling disturbed his thoughts. Kiba detected a killing intent- _'Well, more killing intent than usual.'_ Kiba thought- coming from the dogs around him. Sniffing the air, he found that his senses had somehow become even more sharp than usual. Now he could detect the approaching scent of...

"Enjoying your accomodations?" Orochimaru asked Kiba. He seemed in a good mood as he reached up to a chain wrapped around one bar and deftly untied it. Once this was done, he unlocked Kiba's kennel door and opened it. As soon as he was free, Kiba leaped at Orochimaru with a snarl, but was brought choking to the floor when Orochimaru gave the chain a tug. "Oh, but I had forgotten that beasts don't talk."

"Stop screwing around." Kiba said savagely. "What do you want? Where are you taking me this time?" He refused to let himself be dragged around, and so walked upright in front of the Sannin.

"To see a friend." Orochimaru said merrily, and gave a little chuckle. "Oh, but I can't _wait_ to see what happens. Move faster."

More than just slightly unsettled now, Kiba increased his speed to a trot, making the man behind him take longer strides. _'A friend? Don't tell me he got anyone else. Maybe Sasuke? Nah, that freak's not my friend anymore. Sai? Dei-'_ This thought brought the boy up short. Since when had he become friends with an S-Class villain? _'Ever since we were locked in the same cell for a few long weeks and, denied the ability to kill each other, had nothing to do but chat.'_ He thought wryly. The twisting and winding hallways never seemed to end. With a single word of direction from his captor every now and then, Kiba went right and left, passing various doors. Some of them were open, revealing either empty cells or unpleasant scenes. Finally, the hallway they were walking down led to a dead end, with huge double door. Orochimaru clipped one end of the chain to Kiba's collar and pushed him, making him stumble into the room. There was a loud click behind him as the doors locked shut once more.

"Oi, you-" Kiba swore, banging on the doors. When he recieved no answer, he added another choice swearword and turned to examine his surroundings.

The stone room was well-lit, though all of the light sources were rather high on the brown rock walls. Bloodstains, old and new, were scattered on the floor, while in the middle of the huge space a single person sat.

Kiba began walking torward them uncertainly. As he neared, the sitting person rose to their feet, looking straight at him with no emotion at all in their gold and black eyes.

"Sai?" Kiba muttered, a wave of anger washing over him. His friend looked like he had been in several rough fights since they had last seen him. A gash that curved around his left leg still dripped blood, and he sported a new scar that began at nape of his neck, seemingly extending down his back. To cap it all off, no glint of recognition appeared in his eyes as he stared at Kiba. He was holding a small bottle of ink loosely in one hand, but no brush in the other. "Oh, shit. They want me to fight _you?_"

"You don't seem like a powerful opponent." Sai completely ignored Kiba's statement and gave him a once-over. "I wonder why Orochimaru-sama wants me to fight you? The other opponents were weak, too, although one of them was _quite _strong, that was a good fight..." As Sai rambled on, Kiba felt himself get more and more furious. Striding the last metre, he grabbed ahold of Sai's shoulders and shook him.

"Hey, snap out of it!" Kiba yelled. "Orochimaru's not your master, got it? You're not his pet! You're Sai of Konoha; you're strong, brave, a bit of- well, a _real_ jerk sometimes, but a damn good guy every other time." Seeing his words had no effect, Kiba tried a different tactic. His right hand moved in an arc to slap Sai's face, but before he knew it Sai had performed a lightning-quick backstep, caught Kiba's wrist and twisted it around, kicking him in the back. Kiba landed on the hard ground with a startled exclamation.

"I don't think that I'm going to get any enjoyment out of this fight." There was the faintest hint of dissapointment in Sai's voice. Kiba shot to his feet again, horrified.

_'Enjoyment? What is he, a sadist?'_

"Let me say it again." Kiba said each word slowly, as if trying to communicate with someone who did not speak his language very well. "You're my friend, Sai, and you're not going to fight me, nor am I going to fight you. We're all frrhh.." The word _friend_ ended in an unintelligable snarl. Confused, Kiba tried to say it again, only for more snarling to come out of his mouth. The seal on his left shoulder began to glow bright red, and he howled in pain as jagged black lines raced from the seal up his neck and across his body. Up in the viewing box far above, Orochimaru finished the last hand seal needed to activate Kiba's curse seal and leaned on the railing, watching with interest.

The transformation contiued. Kiba's brown hair grew darker and wilder, extending to halfway down his back in a bristling brown shag of spiky strands. His sharp nails became full-blown claws; the same went for the nails on his bare and dirty feet. His face elongated, becoming a mix of human and animal features

Panicked, Kiba's narrowed eyes shot up to Sai. His friend's eyes widened ever so slightly- with horror?... as he watched the curse seal take its due. Before Kiba could mull over this, the animal slumbering inside him reasserted its dominance and all traces of human sense fled, along with his mind.

* * *

Sai's first impulse was to cry out in concern for the boy, but he stopped himself just in time. The half-human, half-beast creature in front of him had finished its cry and crouched down low, preparing to leap. The attack, when it came, was incredibly fast. Numb once more, Sai dodged, jumping. As soon as his feet felt stone he pushed off, executing a backflip.

Kiba vanished with a blur of movement. Sai had barely enough time to register his sudden dissapearance before he felt his opponent's hot breath on the back of his neck. Clawed feet kicked him downwards, sending Sai crashing into the ground with Kiba standing on top of him, keeping him down. The beast bent down, resting its pawlike hands on Sai's throat in preparation for the killing bite, and struck- but all it got was a mouthful of ink. The real Sai burst out of the ground several metres away, hands out like a puppeteer's. Kiba growled, spitting out ink and got ready to attack once more. But now the ink his hands were submerged in began hissing. Thick black snakes rose up from the sticky liquid, wrapping around Kiba and restraining him. These snake's weren't like Sai's previous creations- they had more substance, real intelligence glowing in their beady eyes.

Sai fought to restrain the urge to command the snakes to constrict. _'However, I still need to make this fight believable enough... how can I let Kiba win without Orochimaru suspecting that I'm letting him?'_ Biting his lip, Sai reassumed his constant deapan expression and loosened his control over the snakes ever so slightly. Snarling, Kiba struggled against his bonds, then stood stock-still. His body began vibrating faster and faster, and then he was spinning, forming a minature whirlwind. The snakes splashed back into their puddle of ink as Kiba performed what Sai recognized as a more powerful version of Tsūga. He rolled to the side, ducking under the clawed shot of death above him.

"Ninpou: Sumi Niru!" Hand seals completed, Sai waved his left arm in a sweeping arc. The ink puddle far in front of him began to bubble ominously, then rose into the air in a boiling wave. It crashed down on Kiba, completely obscuring him for a long moment. However, it could not obscure the bestial howl of pain.

A cruel smile that was highly uncalled for tugged at the corner's of Sai's mouth before he shook his head and dispelled the jutsu, preparing for another assault. _'I hope I didn't overdo it...'_Lost in thoughts, he didn't notice that Kiba had already recovered and had snuck behind him. Sai paid for his loss of vigilance equally. Noticing too late, he could only fling an arm up to protect his throat from getting torn out. Huge claws swiped down the length of his arm, striking bone and glancing off of it. Letting out a gasp of pain Sai nonetheless ducked and rolled, bringing one arm upwards to strike Kiba in the stomach just as the latter leaped on him. The ink that had soaked the edges of his robe's sleeve now left the cloth, blasting upwards and sending Kiba flying.

Sai didn't waste any time. He ran over, forming hand seals as he went. Ten razor-sharp spears formed from the ink, surrounding Kiba as he got to his feet. Sai took one step forward. Up above, Orochimaru leaned closer to the edge, licking his lips in anticipation of the kill. Kiba panted, glaring eyes fixed on Sai, but the beast knew he was at an impasse. Make one move, and his opponent would kill him.

Beads of sweat appeared on Sai's forehead, and his outstretched hands shook. Orochimaru gave a tiny frown as he watched the scene unfold.

It would be so easy to just give the final command and let the spears do their work. Nobody would ever have to know what really happened; Sai could always say that he had been under Orochimaru's control then. They'd believe him. Nobody. Nobody would ever know. Sai only had to entertain the mere notion of killing his friend before he realized what to do.

_'No.'_ He thought firmly. _'I'm not letting another death hang on my record.'_ Hesitantly at first, he let his hands drop.

Orochimaru's eyes narrowed and his eyebrows drew together in a frown.

His opponent had no such thoughts of mercy. As soon as the ink spears dissapated, Kiba lunged forwards and pinned Sai to the ground, claws digging deeply into his shoulders and fangs trying for his neck. Sai squirmed underneath the weight, struggles growing weaker and weaker as loss of blood took its toll.

The curse seal began to glow. Abruptly, Kiba stopped his attack and reared, staggering backwards. His hair and muzzle receded, claws returning to their original state as he collapsed, normal once more.

Two sets of footsteps approached. Orochimaru looked down at the gasping Sai with dissapointment clear in his eyes. He always hated it when an expiriment didn't have the results he predicted.

"Kabuto, take Sai-kun back to the cells- normal gear." He said briefly, and Sai's ears caught the words even as his consciousness faded away. "He doesn't deserve to wear the robe of the privileged anymore."

* * *

I'm getting pretty excited for writing this story now :) Had a dream a few nights ago where Sai was completely badass. Gave me some new ideas for his abilities, which I think I'll use later on. But I'll have to dimish them slightly- I mean, if he managed to hold both Madara and Sasuke Uchiha down to make them drown.. that's a little _too_ strong ;) (And too wishful) So you can look forward to those. Eventually.

It was difficult writing the Tsukuyomi that Sasuke was using on Sai. Personally, I think it was a little sappy and unbelievable.

One more thing... School started now, and as well as sports and SAT tutoring I'm taking a lot of advanced classes whose teachers love work. Not so much time for writing anymore :( Actually, between waiting for inspiration to strike (Less ideas come by during school than when I sit around at home) and being dead-tired after a few four-hour nights in a row, there's barely any free writing time.


	18. Bonds of the Spirit: Part Four

**Bonds of the Spirit: Part Four:**

**You're safe**

* * *

Kiba lay on his side, staring at the wall unseeingly. His burns from the ink hadn't been treated, and his body ached all over from the transformation.

He had been fighting with himself for hours on end, thinking that he had killed Sai when he awoke back in the kennel with burns splattered on his body and the taste of someone else's blood in his mouth. Now that Kabuto had visited and given news, he felt even worse. Knowing their captors, Kiba knew he would have been merciful if he had killed Sai back then. With a heavy sigh, Kiba rolled onto his back. He had gotten used to the unceasing noise of the mad dogs around him, but as ever, an increase in volume meant something had excited them. Kiba started to get to his feet and fell after the first try.

_'Guess I'm a little tired for any hero acts.'_ he thought ruefully. _'I think I can stay awake long enough to see what's up, though...'_

Silent as a shadow, two tall figures in matching uniforms and different animalistic masks appeared at his door. Kiba blinked. Great. Now he was hallucinating. They looked at him for a long moment before one nodded and moved his hand over the lock.

"H-Hey!" Kiba rasped in protest. _'This is just another trick, I know it. It's just more of Orochimaru's henchmen that like taunting me. But this time, I'm in no state to hold up against them...'_ As his thoughts trailed off, his ears pricked up. They had detected a heartbreakingly familiar bark, one that was coming closer and closer. His twitching nose picked up a scent that he knew from when he was but a little child. He could see a huge creamy-white shape barrelling down the hallway. Distant shinobi were running after it. The ANBU unlocked the door and stepped deftly out of the way. Now, as Akamaru leaped onto him, he could taste a mouthful of fur.

"Ack! Ew, Akamaru!" Kiba's protest went unnoticed. "AKAMARU! That HURTS!"

Immediately the nin-dog got off of him, looking guilty, and then came forward again, tenderly licking the burns on Kiba's face.

"It's good to see you alive, Kiba." Naruto smiled widely down at him. Kiba stared up at him, seeing the spiky blonde hair, orange jumpsuit and confident stance, all the same as always. He'd never thought that he'd see the idiot again. "Cmon. You're mom's so cool, by the way! She's taking down those guards with her scary big dog like they're fleas. Anyways, let's get you out of here-"

"Naruto." Kiba rasped. He knew that his body sensed that he was safe, and thinking that its job was finally done, began to shut down to let others do the work and conserve energy. As he felt his muscles relax and eyelids grow heavy, Kiba tried for a few more words. "Naruto... Sai's here."

Naruto stiffened. "What?"

"Sai's here. Third... level..." Kiba finally let himself give in to sleep, satisfied that Naruto would handle things from then on.

The boy in question looked down at Kiba's peacefully sleeping form, then whisked around.

"We'll have three following after you." One bear-masked ANBU member said. Naruto hardly glanced back as he strode purposefully down the hallway.

"Thanks."

* * *

Naruto ran down the long hallway. Cell after empty cell. Most were empty. Some held decaying bodies, obviously dead a while, which explained the smell of death that permeated even the cold stone. In one cell he saw a limp body with a heap of tangled blonde hair, then ran past it, hardly giving it a glance. He had to find Sai before Orochimaru could send in real reinforcements. His heart pounded treacherously loud; he felt like the snake Sannin could hear it all the way from his hidey-hole. He looked into yet another cell. Ink-black hair... _Sai!_

He pounded against the cell's barred door, surprised when it opened easily, and rushed in. He sliced through the chains that kept his friend hanging on the wall, and caught him as he fell. Naruto's breath caught in his throat. He was so thin, the stained and torn long grey shirt he wore hanging on bony shoulders. What he could see of his arms from under the baggy prisoner's garb were covered with wounds. Some were still fresh. Clawmarks ran down the length of his left arm, shoulders, and back. But that wasn't what scared Naruto the most. Around Sai's eyes were purple streaks, just like Orochimaru had. Two eyes opened- one golden, one black opened, staring blankly up at Naruto. The Jinchuuriki was lost for words. Sai's black hair had grown to shoulder length, and his thin face with the horrible, scarred eye... It looked like Orochimaru had tried to turn him into his _son_, and at least lookswise he had nearly succeeded. Naruto dearly hoped that the face was the only thing different about his friend.

"N...Naruto?" Sai whispered. "No... it's one of his genjutsus... you're not real..."

"Sai, I'm real. You're safe now." Naruto murmured. "We're going to get you out of here, okay? We already rescued Kiba. Cmon." He took one of Sai's arms tenderly, wrapping it around his shoulders and hauling him up. Sai let out a short groan of pain, and Naruto froze, then slowly lowered him back down. He noticed now that Sai's left arm- no, _both_ arms twisted unnaturally. They had to be broken. Naruto's mouth set in a grim line as he watched the mismatched eyes close tight, the jaw clenching. More carefully now he lifted Sai up again.

"Safe..." Sai's voice came out as a barely audible mumble. Then his eyes shot wide open and he pushed away from Naruto, stumbling outside the cell on his own. He didn't get far however before exhaustion overcame him and he staggered, beginning to fall.

"Where are you going? Are you crazy?" Naruto demanded, catching him, sick with worry.

"We have to go... save... my friend..." Sai gasped out. He took a step, then another step, last minute strength flowing through him. He refused Naruto's offer of support- they would move too slow together like that. Sweat ran down his face, feeling as if each step he took would be his last. He moved his next leg too fast and his muscles tensed, screaming at him. Black spots danced before him and he fell against the wall, panting.

_'No! You can't give up, Sai! Deidara... Deidara's still out there!'_

Mouth set in a thin line, he willed his broken arm to rise and pushed off of the wall, ignoring its protest and starting to limp forwards again. Back in Root, they had simply pushed on and left comrades to die. But Sai was long past caring. He passed cell after cell, the feeling in his heart growing stronger and stronger... till at last he gave a sigh and fell against the bars of one, trying to catch his breath as he stared longingly at his motionless friend.

"This one?" Naruto asked. When Sai nodded, Naruto tried the door. It was locked. He took out a kunai and cut through the lock in order to swing the door open. Sai slipped inside and dropped to his knees beside the blonde that Naruto had seen earlier.

"Wake up." He murmured, touching the skinny shoulders with one hand. "Please, wake up!" The figure stirred, and shifted, painfully pulling itself into a pulling position. Naruto caught his breath. This one was in no better state than Sai, with a rail-thin body. The arms appeared to have been sewn back together with a different body's elbow area as a connector. Stringy blonde hair tumbled several inches past the man's shoulders and long bangs covered half of his face, coming to a jagged, uncut point.

"Sai... are you okay?" The words were dry and cracked, coming from a throat that hadn't seen much water and too much coughing.

"I should ask you that..." Sai said, his voice weak but with a note of relief.

"Sorry to interrupt the reunion, guys, but we gotta go- the others are waiting for us." Naruto said testily, shfiting his weight from foot to foot. He didn't know how much longer his two companions could go before dying on him. He had to get them to safety. He had promised Hinata that he would get their friend back. And now if it meant getting Sai back, he would save this stranger too. "Can you get up on your own?" He asked Sai. The pale boy nodded and, wincing, got to his feet. He was about to offer the stranger help when Sai offered his less hurt right arm. The stranger shook his head and managed to get to his own feet. He turned his head, and Naruto saw his face fully for the first time. His eyes widened.

"You!" He said in disbelief. "This... this creep is your friend, Sai? What the hell?"

Sai's fists clenched and he moved to stand protectively in front of Deidara, surprising Naruto.

"Is there a problem?" He managed. Even in his debilitated state, he managed to send chills down Naruto's spine.

"I..." Naruto was lost for words. _'Am I angry?'_ he wondered. Somehow, he couldn't manage to summon up anger when he looked at the pitiful creature that had once been one of his most hated enemies. He remembered how Deidara had delivered the warning letter to Kakashi, remembered how the man had spared his life even when it possibly meant losing his own. But most of all, he could not see the defensive look in Sai's eyes and still retain hatred for the bomber. "Sorry." he muttered to Deidara.

The bomber nodded coolly. "Let's just... get out of here, mm." The words were obviously intended to be aloof and condescending, but came out in a raspy voice that didn't sound very impressive at all.

They tried to continue on, but when Sai wavered and collapsed, Naruto ended up carrying him in his arms, disturbed by how light he was. He and Deidara walked on in an uneasy silence. Trailing watchfully behind them were the three promised ANBU.

"Orochimaru, Kabuto and Sasuke dissapeared." Naruto said at last.

"Hm?" Deidara mumbled.

"Just thought I'd mention... " Naruto muttered. "Couldn't find any of them. Maybe they're here, maybe they're not, but if they are here then they're hiding pretty well."

"Mm."

The silence stretched on. Naruto kept stealing glances at Deidara. The man was limping along with his eyes fixed on the floor, thoughts a million miles away. Suddenly a new thought occured to Naruto.

"Hey- is Sai still... y'know, being controlled? Something like that?"

"No. Raidan- the person controlling Sai- released him after your traitor-friend stabbed him and damn near killed him, mm."

Naruto couldn't believe his ears. "Sasuke _stabbed_ Sai?" When Deidara didn't reply, he looked down at his motionless, ever pale friend. Now that he noticed it, Sai _did _have a scar on his throat, a currently healed wound that by all rights he never should have survived.

_'Sai...'_ If he had only known that things would come to this, he'd have never let Sai go out on recon duty alone, so long ago. Naruto heaved a sigh and looked down at Sai's face. It was serene, untouched by the terrors that its owner had undergone so recently. Naruto couldn't help the smile that broke out on his face. _'You're safe again.'_

* * *

Short chapter, but it was just a conclusion to this arc. Next up we have an arc that's probably my favourite- the longest, most suspenseful, exciting, and touching arc out of all of them :) I can't wait to start piecing together my snippets and writing it to the fullest! I hope you know that feeling where your fingers are just itching to patter away at the keyboard! The power of youth is flowing through me at the mere prospect!

Oh yes- and thanks for all the reviews! They were quite inspiring :)


	19. Bonds of Trust: Part One

Here we are! The long-anticipated (Well, at least _I've_ anticipated this for a long time) arc. Presenting the:

**Bonds of Trust: Part One:**

**Arrival**

* * *

A group of people filed silently through the doorway. The hospital room was slightly chilly, thanks to a single open window through which a gentle breeze blew. The shabby pale teal curtains fluttered with every breath of wind, every movement soundless. The group gathered around the single hospital bed: Kakashi, Sakura, Naruto, Hinata, Rock Lee, Ino, and Shikamaru.

As soon as Ino saw Sai, she let out a loud wail and ran across the room.

"Aw, Sai-kun!"

"Shh!" Sakura scolded. "You'll wake him up."

Kakashi stared at Sai's pale face. He noted how long the black hair was, a little past shoulder-length. The facial features, though sunken, were the same as the old Sai. With that horrible new yellow eye closed along with its normal black partner, he looked so peaceful... he could have been sleeping in his bed back at Konoha, in the old days, except the features that now stood out were the purple markings around his eyes. They were slowly beginning to fade, thanks to Tsunade's efforts. But she could not give Sai his old eyes back. He sighed, passing a hand over his face and mask.

Sakura was checking Sai's IV, making sure everything was in order. She was so focused in her work that she did not notice Lee looking at her doing so with a slight blush. That was Sakura-chan. Always so attentive to her patients. Hinata was leaning into Naruto, staring at Sai with huge eyes, while Shikamaru leaned against the wall by the window, looking from a distance.

"Kiba's not going to be awake for a long while, not after you used that sealing technique, Kakashi." The chunin said indifferently. He looked calm and collected on the outside, but his mind was working at lightning speed as always, thinking of all the possible outcomes from this new turn of events. "Think Sai's going to be up soon? I want to ask him some questions."

Kakashi hated the words he was about to say. He knew that the reaction to them would be unpleasant; but Shikamaru's query left him no choice but to tell the truth. "Once Sai recovers, he'll be interrogated for intel on Akatsuki." As he expected, the girls and Rock Lee gasped, while Shikamaru looked startled and raised an eyebrow.

"That's not right!" Naruto said angrily. "Sai's not an enemy! He's been trying his hardest to _protect_ Konoha, not fight against it!"

"Calm down, Naruto." Kakashi sounded tired. "The village needs to know as much as possible about the organization that nearly took it apart. You saw what happened in our last full-on encounter with them. And it's not like Sai has anything to hide," he added. "He doesn't have any loyalty or ties remaining with that organization. They won't have to resort to anything... drastic."

"And the other one?" Shikamaru prompted. "The bomber?"

"He'll be given time to recover before his questioning, as well."

Shikamaru sighed loudly. "What a bother..."

"Okay, all that aside- is Sai going to be okay?" Ino sat down on the edge of Sai's bed, looking worridely at the sleeping boy. Dark shadows underneath her wide blue eyes attested to the past four nights that she had spent making sure there were no dangerous changes in Sai's condition. Only this morning had she gotten any sleep, when a weary nurse told her that he was finally stable and not in any danger.

"Some of his wounds might scar, and he'll be very stiff and sore for several days after release..." Sakura hesitated, wondering if she should continue. Telling Ino anything else would surely make the kunoichi trail her for days after, asking questions. "But... but he should be all right." She finished quickly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Naruto glance at her oddly.

"Thank goodness." Ino sounded relieved. "Well, I'm going to stay right here until he wakes up!"

"We can't, Ino." Shikamaru headed for the door. "We promised to see Kurenai-sensei this afternoon, remember?"

Ino's face fell. "Oh. That's right. You wanna come with us, Lee?"

Lee glanced quickly at Sakura then back at Ino, backing away. "All right." he said reluctantly. "Gai-sensei and Iruka-sensei are waiting for me on the grounds. And Kakashi-sensei, Gai-sensei requested your prescence."

The jonin rolled his eye. "Ai, I'm coming. I assume that it's his turn to choose our next contest, or else he would be avoiding me."

Hinata looked uncertainly at them as they began to exit. Naruto gave her a gentle push.

"Go on, Hinata. If they're visiting Kurenai-sensei, you don't have to stay here just to be polite." Seeing as she still hesitated, he flashed a bright smile. "I'll be waiting at the bakery in a few hours, alright? Like always."

Slowly Hinata smiled back. "Thank you, Naruto-kun." Gathering her courage, she pecked him on the cheek and dashed out the door.

"Ah, Hinata..." Naruto shook his head, but his smile was still present. "You never change."

Sakura giggled softly as she joined him leaning against the wall by the other side of Sai's bed, closer to the window. "Is she always that shy around you?"

"Only when we're together around other people. You should see how much I got her to talk the other day over muffins at the tea shop." He leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms. For a moment he appeared lost in memory, then snapped back to the present and his tone became more serious. "So what was the deal with the lie back there?"

"What lie?" Sakura tried, but immediately knew from the stare that she didn't have Naruto fooled. Letting out a sigh she looked out the window, absentmindedly following the first five leaves that drifted past. Naruto shifted impatiently and gave a tiny cough. "I didn't _lie._ I just gave Ino half of the truth. The thing is, we've discovered a trace of Orochimaru's DNA in his body, and we're not quite sure if there are any side effects besides the markings, which are almost fulled cured. He'll be weak for a while, and since the immune system is weakened as well he'll need occasional checkups. So all in all... we're not sure if he'll be fine or not."

Naruto gave a tight nod and returned to watching Sai. After a short while spent in a grim silence he spoke again.

"How should we tell him when he wakes up?"

"It's all right." A tired and wan voice said. "You don't have to go to the trouble of breaking the bad news. I guess I should have known." Naruto turned, staring, and saw that Sai was looking back at him. The blonde boy fought to supress a shiver as his eyes met the gaze of that eerily familiar, scarred golden eye. Naruto found his hands curling into fists, an uneasy feeling growing deep within him born of not reasonable thoughts but instinct. Then Sai blinked, and the spell was broken.

Sai let out a small, toneless laugh that scared Naruto far more than his mismatched eyes. Sai _never_ laughed like that.

"I'm sorry." Sai reached up with one hand and lightly covered the offending eye. "I know it may be a little frightening. I think I will get an eyepatch for it." His pale hand dropped back down to rest on the coverlet. Naruto forced a smile.

"How d'ya feel, Sai?"

"How's Deidara?" Sai asked immediately, completely ignoring the question. Naruto's face darkened.

"He's in a room down the hallway, under guard by seven ANBU."

"I want to see him." To Naruto and Sakura's dismay, Sai began to get up. His bandaged arms trembled violently with the effort, appearing as if any moment they would give out on him.

"Stop that!" Sakura scolded, raising her hand as if to strike Sai, but to Naruto's relief she simply gave him a light push. Sai fell back against the pillows, though he stubbornly remained sitting. Naruto shook his head with wonder.

"I still don't see how that crazy bastard is your friend... But he'll live, if you really want to know." he said grudgingly. Sai visibly relaxed and let out a long breath.

"Thank you." he murmured.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Sai called weakly. Sakura turned around, and four masked ANBU filed into the room, three remaining on guard outside. In their midst a blonde young man walked, his hair loose but bangs still over half of his face. He walked with the aid of crutches, bandages still tightly bound around his chest and arms, a slowly healing scar still running down one shoulder- but his smile shone brightly.

"Sai, my man!" He greeted him. Sakura looked sharply at Sai to see how he would treat such an informal greeting, and to her amazement she saw Sai's eyes widen, then a true smile split across those pale features like sunshine entering a long-lost, dark and empty cave. The warmth of it stunned her.

_'Sai... So this is Sai's real smile? I never even knew he could...'_

"Deidara!" Sai said happily. "Come on over."

Deidara's crutches _clicked_ on the floor as he made his way over and sat down on a stool by Sai's bed. Sakura remained standing on the other side, eyeing him distrustfully. This was the same Akatsuki member who had captured Gaara, sat on his corpse, taunted Naruto... The cheerful smile looked alien on a face that she had always remembered as sneering and daunting. The casual chatter sounded wrong coming from a mouth that typically threw out insults. She resented how Sai's eyes lit up when he talked to Deidara, resented how easily they seemed to communicate. It wasn't fair. They had spent so much time trying to get Sai back, and now that he was finally back home, their enemy had stolen his friendship. It was clear that Sai was much more comfortable around Deidara now than any of them ever were.

_'Or will be.'_Sakura thought angrily. Abruptly she spun around on her heel and strode torwards the door.

"Naruto! We're going to finish training today! Come on!"

Naruto threw the two an almost guilty look before following after Sakura. _Almost_ guilty.

Deidara looked down at his folded hands, still smiling, but it had lost some of its warmth.

"They don't seem to approve of me, mm. Ah, fuck them. I don't need their _approval_."

"What are you going to do, Deidara?" Sai asked. "If you want, once we get out of the hospital you can stay in my apartment. I'll sleep on the couch, alright? And you can put your stuff-"

"It's not just that." Deidara said, frusterated. "It's not just about where I'm going to sleep. What will I do during the day, mm? I can't just walk around Konoha. These people know me for a missing-nin by now, mm. They're not going to just let me attend the local art exhibits or walk down the street window shopping. For that matter, how will I support myself? I'm definitely not going to be allowed to go on missions and get a paycheck, mm. Ah, damnit, life in the Akatsuki was so much easier!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Sai saw two of the ANBU tense as Deidara said those words.

"No, it wasn't." he said calmly, mindful of their watchers. "You got used to it, but you never wanted to join in the first place, so you could never feel comfortable there."

Deidara stared moodily at the hand that once bore his Akatsuki ring. He had gotten so used to its marginal weight that in it's absence, he felt strangely empty.

"Not like I ever wanted to come here, either..." He muttered. "I sort of miss the old days, mm. Before I was forced into Akatsuki, I hung out in this small temple, filling it with all sorts of exotic art. I'd occasionally lend out my services, here n' there. Doing what I loved to do. Even with the organization I had some measure of freedom, mm. I don't much fancy being a prisoner here."

"I'm sorry." Sai apologized, guilt bubbling away in his stomach. He rarely had felt guilt before, and knew that it wasn't one of the feelings he liked. "I should have never dragged you into this."

"Don't you dare think this is your fault, mm!" Deidara threatened, then dropped his fierce tone. "Nah, I really don't mind being stuck here. Long as I get to talk to you, I'm good, mm." Impulsively he spun around in his chair and called out to the silent guards watching them. "Hey, _will _I get to stay with Sai, or are you going to lock me up somewhere?"

"As a former missing-nin your actions will be closely monitored; however, you are free to choose your own accomodations." One ANBU said primly. If he had been sitting, Deidara would swear that he would have had his hands neatly folded in his lap and back straight against the chair.

"See? Nothing to worry about, mm!" Deidara beamed.

"You were the one worrying, Deidara." Sai pointed out.

"Shut up! You were worrying too, I know it!" Deidara said heatedly, and was rewarded as Sai gave a quiet but heartfelt chuckle. He smiled at the sight. _'I got him to laugh.' _Deidara thought happily. _'Looks like things will be okay after all, though who knows what the bastards here would think of me.'_

* * *

Deidara yawned widely, then shivered. Early mornings in Konoha's autumn were as chilly as a midwinter's noon. He gingerly began stretching his legs, wincing as his joints popped from long hours of inativity and overused muscles shouted their complaints. His crutches lay abandoned on the bedside floor, the covers of his bed hanging off of the edge in a messy bundle. Only two ANBU were making their prescence known, but he wasn't stupid enough to think those were the only ones that day. More were definitely watching him out of sight. Deidara nodded sagely and gradually lifted his arms upwards, moving onto his tiptoes and holding the position.

The two ANBU stirred, and Deidara shot them a glance. Both of them had their hands on their weapons. _'What the hell did I do wrong this time?'_ He wondered absentmindedly, mostly trying to figure out how to fend off any surprise attacks. However, when the door creaked open, he mentally cursed at himself for letting the two masked shinobi outdo him. Just now he was sensing a visitor's prescence.

A shaggy brown head peeked through the door, looking cautiously around as if unsure of the room's occupants. Deidara immediately recognized the characteristic red markings on the visitor's cheeks and gave him a wave.

"Yeah, I'm here, mm."

Kiba entered the room fully, limping ever other step. Despite this, he seemed in remarkably good shape, especially considering how short his stay with Orochimaru had been in comparison to Sai and Deidara's.

"You seem all right." Deidara remarked, picking up his crutches and eyeing Kiba slightly enviously. "All you need now is a comb and some face paint for those stupid fang marks of yours, mm."

"Giving me fashion advice now, Deidara-_chaann_?" Kiba shot back, drawing out the childish honorific. "Okay, so maybe I'm a little rugged lookin'. But at least I'm still a kid. You're what, twenty one?- and I haven't seen you grow a beard or even arm hair. Maybe you're a girl after all!"

Deidara's face reddened, but he managed to bite back the scathing retort that was ready on the tip of his tongue. "So what do you want, doggy? A bone?"

"No, actually..." Kiba suddenly seemed very awkward. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked out the window, sticking his other hand in his hospital pants pocket and taking out a large lump of bright green clay. He held it out, still looking away, and almost reverently Deidara took it. "Sorry." Kiba grunted. "They would only allow me to give you kid's playdough... I thought you might like it, anyways, so... yeah."

"No, it's perfect!" Deidara answered, and Kiba was startled to see a wide grin on the blonde's face. "Thanks, mm!"

Slowly Kiba relaxed and returned Deidara's smile with one of his own. "No problem. Mind letting me watch you work?"

"Go ahead!" Deidara was beside himself with delight. He eagerly plopped back down on the edge of his bed and began kneading the clay, getting the feel of the slightly sticky material. The right-hand mouth took a tentative taste of the fake clay and immediately spit it out, letting Deidara do all the moulding. Very soon, a recognizable animal was born from the playdough. Kiba couldn't believe his eyes. The furry ears, the lined mouth, the ungainly paws. A minature green Akamaru stood in Deidara's cupped hands, one paw lifted into the air and jaws open in a bark. Before he knew it, Kiba was giving the model a tentative pat on the head.

"Wow." he breathed. "That's _exactly_ like Akamaru."

"I only got a glimpse of him, mm. Guess it's good enough!" Deidara looked fondly down at his creation. "You have no idea how good it feels to get my hands moving again. Mind if I destroy this model and make another?"

"Do whatever you want with it. It's yours now." Kiba answered. He was beginning to feel strange again, sitting next to someone that was supposed to be a criminal. Back when they'd shared a cell, he didn't think it was odd. But he was surprised with himself now. _'Why am I still talking to him?'_ Kiba wondered. _'I don't need his friendship or anything, now that we're in Konoha. But he doesn't seem fierce or anythin'. When I gave him that playdough, he was like a puppy who got a treat. And I could tell he was just playing around earlier... All in all, he's not such a bad guy.'_

* * *

Sai stood in the middle of his slightly darkened room. Everything seemed exactly as he had left it, albeit dusty. The bed was neatly made. The desk was in an orderly arrangement. The paintings still hung upon the wall. He crossed over to one specific painting, leaning against it for a moment to catch his breath. _'Maybe I should have stayed longer.'_ Sai reflected. _'It took me half an hour to merely ascend the stairs.'_ His gasping slowly calmed into long, deep breaths, and he raised his head. This painting, one of Sai heading torward Naruto and Sakura beneath a tall oak, was the only one with a title. With a start, he noticed that there was no layer of dust upon the picture; someone had been coming in every now and then to clean it off. He tenderly brushed the tips of his fingers against the kanji for 'Nakama' that were neatly written beneath the picture. Face expressionless, he settled down into bed, staring at the darkening ceiling.

Sai turned over onto his side. _'I'm home.'_ He thought sleepily, and closed his eyes.

* * *

Alright, so not much action and mostly fluff. Look forward to a little bit of angst next chapter, though! It will soon become clear that there are no bonds of trust linking our two friends to the rest of Konohagakure.


	20. Bonds of Trust: Part Two

**Bonds of Trust: Part Two:**

**Stranger**

* * *

Sai bumped unceremoniously into what seemed like the fifth person that day, yet it only was ten in the morn on the day after his release. His black neck band had been replaced with a new one to hide his scar, and his old Root jacket was just letting the chilly wind blow right at him, but what was _really_ bothering him was the eyepatch. He had begun to see odd flickerings in his right field of vision with that eye, flickerings varying in colour from person to thing. As he recovered, they slowly grew stronger and more interesting, but then he was released into public and on went the eyepatch. The band wrapped around his head in a diagonal fashion to keep it from falling off in battle, but that was the only bonus. Sai wondered how Kakashi always managed to sense things on his blind side when his Sharingan was covered. Years of practice, he assumed.

Sai was so hampered by the eyepatch and his tiredness that he didn't even notice the incoming blow until it was too late. He was knocked to the side, just barely missing a street vendor's stand and hit his head on a basket of freshly baked bread. Rubbing the sore spot, he sat up and faced his assailants. There were only three of them, genin about two years younger than he.

_'If they still haven't become chunin, it's obvious they're not that skilled.'_ Sai thought, and slowly lifted himself up. _'However, it would be clear to anybody that I'm not in the best of shape right now. I suppose I have to resort to tactics other than fighting.'_ Straightening as best as he could, Sai adopted a neutral expression with his one hand in his pocket, the other hanging loosely at his side.

"Can I help you?" he asked politely.

The tallest of the three scowled at him.

"You can help us by killing yourself." the boy snapped. "What the hell do you think you're playing at, dressing up like _him_?"

Sai frowned in confusion for moment before his expression cleared, and he indicated the still-fading purple marks around his visible eye.

"Oh, you mean these? They're not permanent. And I'm planning on a haircut, too. How short do you think I should cut it?" His voice was pleasant and conversational.

"Stop talking like that!" The second boy's voice was shaking, and his hands curled into fists. "My- my dad was _killed _by Orochimaru and his mercenaries! Stop walking around acting just like him, so- so _fake_ and _casual_, it's not _right!_" Emotions overwhelming him, the kid let out an angry sob and then lunged forwards. Sai ducked under his strike, but the third and last boy kicked his legs out from under him with a sweeping kick. Sai tried to recover and roll away, but his body wasn't cooperating fully just yet. The leader of the trio finished off with a powerful kick to the chest. Sai flew through the air and hit the wall, arms splayed, then dropped to the street. He gritted his teeth, propping himself up with one arm to show at least a measure of strength. His opponents crowded closer, eager to continue. The tallest boy raised a fist, but as he brought it down there was a rush of wind. Dried leaves swirled around a new arrival's legs from the speed of his arrival.

"Stop it, mm!" Deidara caught the oncoming fist and shoved it away. He stretched his arms out protectively from where he stood in front of Sai. "If there's anyone you should be fighting, it's me!"

"You!" The tall boy spat venemously. "The criminal! What the hell do you think you're doing in our village?" He lunged forward again, but to his surprise he was met with no resistance. The fist connected with Deidara's jaw and he took a tiny step backwards before recovering. Enraged by this, the boy struck again, and again. Sai looked up with wide eyes.

_'Why is he...'_ Sai attempted to get up, but his strength failed him and he slumped to the ground once more. _'Why isn't Deidara fighting back?' _

On a rooftop two stories higher than the street, a group of four masked shinobi crouched down low. The ANBU didn't interfere; they simply watched, watched what was going on just like the civilians down below.

* * *

Naruto waved to the kindly old lady whose cat he had helped find in exchange for several free ramen tickets. He sat frog-like on the windowsill, the tickets tucked safely in his pocket.

"Are you sure you don't want these, Ayame-san?"

"It's Ayame-obaasan, young man." The lady said happily, stroking her fluffy orange feline with one withered hand. "And no, unfortunately ramen does not sit well with my ageing digestive system. But you must promise me that you will come back and visit me and Natsu-chan someday!"

Naruto gave her a wide grin and flashed a thumbs-up. "You bet, obaasan! I'll be seeing you around, and thanks for the ramen!" With that, he leaped out of the window, leaving nothing but a lingering trace of sunshine behind in the room. Ayame gave a sigh.

"Young'uns..." she mumbled.

Naruto hopped from window to window, occasionally eliciting startled cries from apartment building occupants. After a few minutes of travel, his ears pricked up and he stopped on one well-tended sill, just barely avoiding knocking over some potted plants. Thankfully, this apartment was empty. He always had had an ear for trouble, and this sounded like a big fight. That was odd enough in itself, since usually the villagers would try and break up street fights between kids. He located the sound and leaped closer. The civilians in this area were hurrying past the fight, their eyes averted. What appeared to be three fifteen-year olds were attacking one tall blonde man, whose head was bowed and arms thrown out. Looking closer, Naruto discerned a huddled, white and black form behind him, and gave a start. The whiteness was actually just pale skin, the black a familiar jacket- Sai? So the blonde...

_'Deidara?'_ Naruto ground his teeth in frustration. _'That asshole, he's fighting already!' _

The arms did not lower from their vunerable position. Naruto's eyes became round as saucers. "He's not fighting back..." He muttered, as if in shock. "He's not attacking them, because he wants to be recognized as an ally." With that, he leaped out of the window, one leg stretched out to deliver a powerful kick to the first boy. He went flying back several paces, crashing into the opposite building's wall.

"Shit, it's Naruto!" One of the group cursed, then bit his tongue and adopted a repentant tone as he remembered everything that the jinchuuriki had done for Konoha. "What were we doing wrong, Naruto-san?"

"Everything." Naruto growled. "Get out of my sight, and don't bother these two again." Turning around, he saw that Deidara was helping Sai up.

"I can stand on my own now." Sai insisted. "You'd better look after yourself instead."

"Hmph." Deidara snorted, rubbing blood away from a cut above his eye and blinking furiously. "They punched like girls, mm."

"Then you really haven't seen Sakura and Hinata fight, have you?" Naruto interjected. Deidara whirled around, eyeing him distrustfully. Privately, Naruto had much the same sentiments. "Sai, are you alright? Let's get y- er, both of you to Sakura for a checkup." His eyes flickered to the many bruises beginning to make their appearance on Deidara's neck and head.

"That won't be necessary." A deep voice said. Naruto turned, seeing the tall and imposing figure of Ibiki striding torwards them. Several of his underlings were trailing behind, looking only marginally less intimidating. "Now is a prime time for Sai's appointment, and in about two hours we will expect the company of Deidara. You may get him healed in the meantime, if he wishes it."

"B-" Naruto began a protest, but was cut off as Sai limped past him and joined Ibiki. The man looked down at him coolly, appraising what difficulties this particular one would pose.

"I'm coming, Ibiki-san." Sai said politely. "Naruto, would you please take Deidara to Sakura? He can be stubborn at times when he most needs help. Rather like you, actually."

"Hey!" Naruto growled jokingly and Sai smiled, before letting the Interrogation Squad close ranks around him and lead him away. Exhaling, Naruto reluctantly draped his right arm around Deidara's shoulders.

"What the fuck?" Deidara's cheeks reddened. "Are you trying to make some sort of move on me, mm?"

"Huh? No!" Naruto protested, but his ears turned bright red as well. "I'm trying to keep you from falling dead on your feet! You're supposed to accept the help, idiot! Besides, I already have a girlfriend!"

Grumbling to himself Deidara put his left arm around Naruto's shoulders and let his companion take some of his weight. "Well, you could have said so before going and doing it..."

"Why didn't you fight?" Naruto asked abruptly. "Why do you stay here in a village full of your enemies and try to adjust to life here when you could easily run away after recovery? Why did you help Kakashi-sensei? Why did you help Sai? You, a top-ranked missing-nin... why are you doing this all for him?"

They neared the training grounds. Naruto knew Sakura was there, waiting for him to arrive so they could practice some genjutsu, a weak point for the both of them.

Deidara hung his head and let his hair fall forward, but Naruto could still see the soft, almost sad smile that graced his dirtied face.

"Because he's... Sai is my best friend."

When Naruto didn't say anything in return, Deidara continued, voice becoming hard and scathing once more. "Not that you'd ever understand, mm.

_'Naruto's face crinkled in a smile as Sai looked on in amazement. "Because Sasuke... Sasuke is my best friend. He acknowledged me more than anyone else, really."' _

"No." Naruto murmured. "I understand completely."

Startled, Deidara raised his head, but then Naruto disentangled himself and lowered Deidara down to lean against a wooden training post.

"Sakura-chaan!" he called. Deidara noticed that Naruto was purposely turning away as he shouted so he wouldn't have to face him. "I'm going to leave him to you for now, 'kay? I gotta go see how Sai's doing! Make sure Deidara starts following me in an hour and a half!"

"Geez, Naruto!" Sakura complained loudly. She plopped down in the grass next to Deidara. "Leaving me alone with a criminal like this... Just remember that I can punch the lights out of you any time." The last threat was directed at Deidara, who winced and nodded as she placed one chakra-surrounded hand on his forehead to begin healing. Her eyebrows were bunched together as if magnetically attracted to one another, and her mouth was turned down in a fierce scowl. Meekly Deidara lowered his gaze. He knew better than to mess with a furious female, and waited until she was done. Sakura got up swiftly and brushed the dirt off of her lap onto him. She was about to leave when Deidara called after her.

"Hey, um- Sakura...san?"

She stopped.

"What do you want?" Sakura growled. "Don't bother with insults. I'll go straight for the knockout and save you pain. Maybe if you get lucky I'll send you to join your partner Sasori in heav- oh, sorry, hell, and then you can leave Sai alone."

Deidara's eyes widened, and before he knew it angry words slipped out of his mouth. "Don't talk about Sasori-danna like that, mm! He's in heaven, I know it, but a bitch like you who's going to hell won't ever know that!" Taking a deep breath, he continued his tirade. "And all I wanted was to ask a single damn simple question!"

"Then what is it?" Sakura shouted back. The anger coursing through her veins felt good, as if she had needed to argue for a long time. "If you want a date, then tough luck!"

"You're an ugly whore, I don't need you in my life, mm! All I wanted..." Deidara's voice faded into nothing, and he scuffled his feet, making little circles in the grass. "All I wanted was to ask if..." The man seemed to consign himself to his fate. "codiborryounaipolmover." Deidara said in a rush.

Sakura blinked. "What?"

"Could I borrow... your nail polish...remover?" Now the words were squeaked. Deidara held up his hands, displaying a full set of ten neatly painted, glossy black fingernails. "Y'know, how all of the Akatsuki get their fingernails painted, mm. I figured since you're a girl, you'd have some sort of cleansing solution."

Sakura felt her anger drain away like an invisible plug had been pulled. _'Nail polish remover...? By removing it, it's like he's trying to break more of his ties to Akatsuki. Now that he's lost his ring, that must be one of the last things...'_ Despite herself, she began to warm to the newest arrival.

"I'm sorry." she said in a friendly voice. "But you're kinda wrong... just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I wear nail polish. I don't think Ino has any, either."

"Oh. I see." Deidara sounded despondent.

"But on the way to the Interrogation Unit H.Q., I can show you a nice shop and get you some." Sakura offered, and the man brightened.

"Hey, thanks, mm!"

"No problem." Sakura surprised herself by smiling at the one who called himself Sai's friend. _'I thought I was jealous... why am I being so kind?' _As they began walking, she came up with the answer. _'Because friendship and trust are things that go hand in hand, and can be shared by more than just one person...'_

* * *

Sai settled himself in the hard wooden chair. The chair was surprisingly comfortable. He didn't doubt that it had held many occupants. Sai reached up and deftly tied his hair in a long ponytail, before folding his hands neatly in his lap and putting on a smile. The heavily scarred interrogator sat down across the table, while a tall blonde man with a handsome, if ageing face leaned against the door, his green eyes never leaving Sai's black one. Both Ibiki and the tall man were wearing the long black coats that were standard wear for their unit.

"You seem to know my name already, but just in case you do not recogize-"

"Yamanaka Inoichi, head of the Yamanaka clan. Specializes in mind-body techniques and mind reading, teamed with Shikaku Nara and Chōza Akimichi. In total, you have completed twenty S-Rank missions with your teammates. Despite your profession and record, you hold another job as the owner of a flower shop." Sai's gaze switched to Ibiki. "Morino Ibiki. Head ANBU Interrogator of Konoha. Exceptionally strong in genjutsu, which is only to be expected from your job. Feared reputation even amongst other villages. Older brother to Morino Idate, a defector from Konoha."

"Well, well, it seems that you're well informed. There I was thinking that the interrogators were the ones who were supposed to know everything about the captive." Inoichi walked over to where Sai was and placed a large hand on his head. Sai waited patiently, trusting that they would get right to the point. "Should I get right to it, Ibiki? He seems willing to cooperate with us, and he is not the enemy, after all."

"Go ahead." Ibiki nodded his approval and Inoichi closed his eyes in concentration. Sai felt his consciousness fleeing deep within his mind at the alien touch of another human's mind. It was an odd feeling, seeing all of your memories flashing by you. Standing next to him with his brow furrowed was Ino's father, browsing through each piece of Sai's history. Sai wasn't troubled. Danzō had placed undetectable barriers around memories concerning the Foundation for each and every member, thus putting him in the clear should any be investigated.

Memories flashed past- Past missions, days spent drawing or training or walking in the village. Sai only began looking on with interest when he saw his days in Akatsuki go by.

_'Was I really that young looking compared to the rest of them?' _he wondered offhandedly. Inoichi seemed to be spending extra time on his conversations with other members. Sai began to feel slightly uneasy as the man spent several long minutes reviewing the memory of one of his first dinner-table discussions with the criminals. He didn't need to know every insult traded in between Raidan and Hidan or every shark-related story recounted by Kisame.

A memory flashed past, then rewound itself and went by more slowly. Sai saw Deidara covered in blood and dirt, with someone's hand winding bandages around one arm. With a flash, Sai remembered that day- the aftermath of the fight with Ryoko...

Anger, unbidden and unwelcome, reared its ugly head. _'He shouldn't be looking there.'_ Sai thought savagely, curling his hands into fists. More memories- drawing and conversing peacefully by the river, training together on the plateau, flying at low altitude through vibrant green trees. Unnoticed by Inoichi, Sai crept closer.

Sitting in a cave by a tiny, trembling fire. A fake smile and harsh words.

Sai began his kick, striking so he wouldn't cause any damage, simply take out his opponent's ankles. His mental self didn't feel the least bit of exhaustion; energy was flowing through him like a current of electricity. The memory was cut in half as Inouchi's concentration was broken, the man stumbling backwards from the table.

"What happened, Inoichi?" Ibiki asked sharply. Sai, sensing that trouble was brewing, quickly intervened before the situation could get any worse.

"Those memories were a little too private for me to be able to let anyone else go through them, Inoichi-san. I'm sorry, but I would like them to remain undisturbed. However, I can assure you that they do not contain any information that would be of interest to you." Sai tilted his head, ponytail swinging to one side, and gave the Yamanaka a little smile.

Inoichi considered him, but Sai's face told nothing.

"I think I'm done here." he said at last. "Thank you for your time, Sai-kun. Ibiki, would you show him out and bring our next one in?"

Sai exited the building, blinking in the sudden glare from the bright autumnal sunshine. He only was able to take one step forward, however, before three silent figures dressed in long beige cloaks appeared in front of him with barely a flicker. All of them wore animal masks.

"Danzō-sama requests your prescence." a mouse-masked one said tonelessly. Sai gave them a nod.

_'It was going to happen sooner or later.'_ He reflected, feeling the merest flicker of regret. _'I hope Deidara will understand.' _ The three Foundation members moved to surround him, then as one they all leaped into the air and vanished.

* * *

Deidara slouched down in his seat and tried to hide his nervousness by projecting a cocky, care-for-nothing aura. However, it in no way deterred the man facing him, who broke out into a predatory grin. The many scars crossing his face made it all the more disconcerting.

"How long I've waited for the day where I could uncover all of Akatsuki's secrets." Ibiki said.

"Your companion didn't know much, but he mostly cooperated." Inoichi put in. "You should-"

"_Mostly_?" Deidara challenged.

"Enough." Ibiki rose impatiently from his chair and formed five hand seals. Deidara looked around in confusion as the room dissapeared, replaced by a swirling mass of blue and green clouds.

_'Genjutsu?'_ he thought warily. _'Damn, if only I had my scope... gotta start building one tommorow.'_

Ibiki appeared several metres in front of him. Iron bars formed latticed walls around them, effectively sealing off any possible avenues of escape. Not that escape was possible in the first place; chains had snaked up from the floor and tightly bound themselves around Deidara.

"Not giving me any time to prepare, mm?" Deidara asked through clenched teeth. He had expected this kind of treatment to be awaiting him, so he wasn't overly surprised. Ibiki shrugged.

"I find that the surprise attacks yields oft yields more results than the anticipated one." he replied levelly. "Now tell me- what is the true purpose of your organization?"

"That's easy, mm. Capture all of the tailed beasts." Deidara scoffed.

"We know that." Ibiki growled. "_Why _are you capturing them?"

Deidara opened his mouth to speak then closed it again, lost for words. _'Why...?'_ He thought hazily. The pain began to make it harder to think. He started gasping for breath as the chains around his chest suddenly constricted, prompting him to make a quick answer or continue suffering. _'All that time... all that work...'_

"I don't know." Deidara rasped. Ibiki raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"You don't know." he repeated, voice heavy with sarcasm that didn't fit him. "Well, let's see how long it takes for you to decide that you do."

Deidara's palm mouths ground their teeth in frustration, while he glared at he interrogator. As the chains stretched even tighter, Deidara saw a flicker of discomfort fly across Ibiki's face. It was as fleeting as the morning dew, but he had caught it. _'He's feeling the same... pain as me...'_ Needless to say, the thought didn't make Deidara feel any better. He hated being outdone by the enemy. His face became strained.

"Getting uncomfortable?" Ibiki asked casually.

"I should ask... the same of you, mm." Deidara wheezed. He had told the truth; there was no way he was going to plead with the sadistic bastard. The gears beneath the iron bars kept turning with agonizing slowness. Black spots crept into his vision and stayed there, growing in size, receding, then becoming bigger than before. Deidara kept staring at Ibiki, until at last his eyes closed.

Ibiki blinked as the jutsu was dispelled.

"He passed out." The man said, dissapointed. "Do you want me to wake him up for you so you can try, Inouchi?"

Inouchi readied his palm over Deidara's blonde head. "No, it's actually better this way."

The scarred interrogator waited in silence for his partner to finish scanning Deidara's memories. At last, after half an hour, Inouchi removed his hand.

"Well?" Ibiki prompted. Inoichi was looking at Deidara curiously.

"He really didn't know anything." The man said quietly. Ibiki studied Inoichi's face intently. There was a thoughtfulness there that he knew all too well.

"What did you see?"

Inoichi didn't seem to hear him. "Perhaps..." His hard eyes softened as he continued to gaze at the unconscious Deidara. _'Ah, I'm getting soft... my daughter must be rubbing off on me...' _ But try as he might, after seeing the memories that lurked in the recesses of Deidara's mind, he could no longer look at the bomber and see a criminal. All he saw was a troubled young man who was out of his natural habitat, trying to find his way in the world like the rest of them.

"Perhaps?" Ibiki repeated.

"Perhaps he's not the threat we once thought he was."

* * *

Sai knelt down on one knee, his head bowed in respect.

"Fū has given me a full report on the interrogation division's findings, but I want you to relate to me in detail of Atatsuki's infrastructure." Danzō commanded, voice more cracked than the last year but as authorative and comandeering as ever.

"Yes, sir. The leader was-"

"First, however, I have a new mission for you." The elder interrupted, and Sai looked up. "I notice that you seem to have a friendship with this newcomer."

"Do you not approve, sir?" Sai asked, face expressionless.

Danzō shook his head slowly. "No, it is well. You are to report back to me on his interactions with the shinobi and the civilians of the village. Any additional information on his abilities could also be included. Continue this 'friendship' of yours, but be warned- should he make any indication of treason, then you are to eliminate him immediately."

"As you wish, Danzō-sama." Sai replied evenly. "I apologize for taking the initiative. I had thought that gaining his trust would give me an advantageous position to see whether he can be of value or not."

Danzō scrutinized him, dark eye impenetrable. Sai was smiling again, and mentally the old warhawk frowned upon seeing it.

"All is well." Danzō repeated. "Now, for your report..."

* * *

Funny thing, we were talking about bonds today in ap biology. But they were the phosphodiester type, not the trust kinds.

I enjoyed being able to include Danzō once again- he's actually not such a bad guy in my opinion, and a great anti-hero. Not quite the level of Alucard or Lelouch, but he definitely does major work backstage. I also liked putting in Ibiki, since I felt as if he got too much of a dissapointment from his failed interrogation of the Animal Path and needed some success in his career.

I realize this chapter was a little too lacking fluff-and-humour wise, but the next chapter will be chock-full of it, so no worries :) Thank you again for reviewing- they were only reason I was motivated today to write.


	21. Bonds of Trust: Part Three

I was considering making this a mini-arc by itself, serving as a 'filler episode' since it deviates slightly from the main storyline- but decided against it. There are too many relevant things in this chapter to make it a filler. So, if you'll excuse the chapter name...

**Bonds of Trust: Part Three:**

**Bonds of Love**

* * *

A tanned, wrinkled hand grasped a small, hot cup of green tea with surprising delicacy. The hands owner took a sip of it, and lowered the cup to the floor once again. A little wisp of white steam rose from the translucent green liquid and curled in the air. The man contemplated his tea for a minute, then slowly reached out for a packet of sugar. Before his fingers reached the sugar, however, they froze in place, then retreated. The wind howled outside, and with a creak the shutters keeping the lone window shut snapped open. Danzō casually took hold of the sugar again and dumped the entire packet into his tea, swirling it around, eye fixed on the open space in front of him.

Two seconds later, two masked shinobi appeared in front of him, kneeling at attention. One had spiky black hair tied up in a ponytail behind his slightly smiling mask; the other had a rather mournful-looking mask and his head was covered by the thick beige hood of his cloak.

"Hyō, Terai." Danzō greeted them. "I have called you two here for a rather unfortunate business that I wish you to take care of."

"No matter how unfortunate it may be, Danzō-sama, we will handle it for you." Hyō replied, whilst his companion merely nodded.

"It is a situation that we have never dealt with before, and I will not tolerate it." Danzō carefully took another swig of tea, and as he did so reached into a deep front pocket of his robes, searching for something. What he finally drew out was a small square slip of paper, with someone's photo on it. This he held out to the pair. Terai took it and stared at it silently, while Hyō looked over to the side in order to see who it was.

It is said that Foundation members' emotions are so far suppressed that they are nonexistent, but as the spiky-haired man saw the face in the picture he could not stop the flicker of shock that ran through his body.

"And our orders, sir?" He questioned, returning his pale lilac gaze to his superior. Danzō regarded them coolly.

"It should be clear. The target is a danger to Konoha. I want you two to eliminate him."

"Yes, sir." Hyō bowed his head, while Terai just nodded again, ever-quiet.

"However, this must be done in absolute secrecy." Danzō warned. "It must never be discovered who the perpetrators are, so you are to secure a disguise of sorts before and during the mission. You especially, Hyō, must find something to hide your eyes. Now... go, and do not fail me."

* * *

Sai strolled down the street, black eye bright and a jaunty spring in his step. When inviting Sai out for some ramen, Naruto had agreed that he could bring Deidara along. He was surprised, but didn't question this sudden change in heart.

"Hey, Sai-kun!" someone from behind him shouted. Sai turned around upon hearing his name, and let Rock Lee catch up to him. The boy leaned forwards with his hands on his knees, catching his breath, then straightened again. "Have you been well? Are you recovered?"

"Yes, thank you." Sai answered.

"And is Deidara-kun fully recovered, too?" Rock Lee asked, oblivious to the impact of his words. Sai searched Lee's huge eyes for any hint of sarcasm or malice, but there was none.

"He has. It was nice of you to ask." Sai gave him a smile. "How can I help you?"

Rock Lee's eyes darted from side to side and he shifted nervously. "Sai-kun, do you know Sakura-san very well?"

"I believe that we are friends, yes." Sai acknowledged. "What is this all about, Lee-kun?"

The green-suited boy fidgeted some more before he threw his shoulders back, straightened his arms, and bowed from the waist.

"Please teach me how to win her undying affection!" Lee shouted, staring at the tips of his shoes. "I beg of you!"

Sai blinked, but other than that he remained composed. "What gave you that impression? I think that my help would only make things worse, not better."

"But a lot of girls like you." Rock Lee insisted. "Please, Sai-kun. I have faith in you!"

"Well..." Sai rubbed his chin thoughtfully. His dark eyes appraised Lee. "I do not see anything wrong with you. Perhaps I can give you a tip from some of my books- they are very informative. Apparently, a woman will become 'moved' if you sacrifice yourself for her. The book said that worked all of the time."

Rock Lee whipped out a minature notebook and began scribbling in it, writing down everything that Sai said. "I see!" He nodded vigorously. Sai held up a finger for silence, warming to his task.

"Also, what always elicits a reaction from any woman is getting close to her and whispering her name in her ear. If you want, I can give you any number of 'pick-up' lines that my book suggested, although I cannot see why you would want to pick up a girl. What if she is heavy?"

"You do have a point there, Sai-kun. Thank you!" Rock Lee bowed once more. "I will not further distract you from your daily activities!"

"No, it was a pleasure being able to help." Sai nodded to him and continued on his way, sticking his hands in his pockets as he went reminiscent to Kakashi's lazy manner. He had discarded the Root jacket that day for a faded buttoned black longsleeve that was his typical wear on days off. He was getting much better at maneuvering the busy streets, able to avoid hitting anybody even if they were running past. Spotting Ichiraku Ramen, he made his way over. He noticed that Naruto had taken a seat next to Deidara instead of one away, indicating that the boy was more comfortable around the bomber than before. Feeling as if a weight had been taken off of his heart, Sai sat down on Deidara's other side. The man was wearing a dark blue jacket and pants. Where his scratched Iwagakure headband had once been, there was a plain black one without a metal plate or insignia.

"Heya, Sai." Deidara greeted him cheerfully. "Took you enough time to get here, mm."

The old, slightly heavy man behind the bar smiled at Sai in welcome. "Hello again, Sai-kun. It's good to see that you're doing well." Teuchi said.

"What do you want, Sai?" Naruto offered. "I earned five free ramen tickets from an old lady some days ago. We can each get a small bowl with a max of five toppings."

Sai raised an eyebrow. "Five toppings? So if there are twenty five different toppings... that would make..." He did the math quickly in his head. "Over two hundred different choices. Perhaps you could pick for me?"

"Sweet, I get to make you try my favourite combo!" Naruto cheered, almost dancing in his seat with delight. "And you, Deidara-k... ehh, Deidara?"

The blonde scrutinzed the menu carefully. "In all honesty, I haven't had ramen before. Cooking is too refined of an art for me, mm. It's so much more intricate than clay moulding, requiring just the right combinations of heat, ingredients, time, and of course skill to make something. None of us really bothered with it. We just ate canned food, mm."

"So now's your chance to try _real_ food." Naruto poked him on the shoulder playfully, and Deidara shot him a glare which went ignored. "Cmon, just pick something already!" Teuchi waited patiently for them to start their orders.

"Fine." Deidara sighed. "I'll try the ramen with shrimp, garlic, and onion. Sounds like it'll be exploding with taste."

"Ohh, that one's good. I've had it before. Hey, Teuchi, d'you think you also can get us two small bowls of ramen with pork and parsley?" Naruto handed over three ramen tickets to the man, who turned around and began preparing their orders, occasionally calling out to his daughter to fetch him something- bowl, packet of noodles, or leaves of parsley. It was done fairly quickly, and three steaming bowls were set before them. Sai handled his chopsticks daintily while Naruto fairly gulped his ramen down.

"_This_ is ramen?" Deidara said disgustedly, placing his chopsticks back down. A noodle dangled off of the edge of the bowl, dripping soup onto the table.

"Got a problem with it?" Naruto demanded. "It's the best food in the world!"

"Like hell it is, mm! This stuff tastes like Inuzaka dogshit! I- oh." Deidara broke off awkwardly as he noticed the shop owner still standing behind the bar. "No offense to you, but... it's not exactly my thing, uhh..."

"Teuchi." the man supplied. "It's quite all right, Deidara-kun. Ramen's not for everybody. And Sai-kun, I'm glad to see you back safely."

"Thank you, Teuchi-san." Sai replied politely.

"Hold on, mm." Deidara stood up. "You know who I am?"

Teuchi looked at him oddly. "Of course." he finished toweling off one clear glass and placed it carefully in a drying rack. Deidara slammed his fist on the table, making the bowls shake. His eyes were wide with distress.

"Then _why,_" he asked, "Why didn't you kick out out, mm? Why don't you shun me like all the other freakin villagers here?"

The elderly shop owner kept drying off another glass as he spoke, back turned to them.

"This place has always been a haven for young'uns." he said, voice faintly nostalgic. "I remember a little blonde one much like yourself who was always shunned and turned away, but he always had a place here." Naruto looked down at his bowl, suddenly embarassed. "There's no reason why you should be any different."

Sai looked up at Deidara, expecting the man to protest at being called a 'young-un', but to his surprise his friend was silent. Deidara stared at his ramen. Slowly he pushed it forwards.

"Thank you for the ramen, Teuchi-san." he said, turning away. "I'm going to go take a shower, Sai, Naruto. You two catch up, mm."

As he walked away with shoulders slumped and hands loose at his sides, Naruto turned to Sai.

"Should we let him go?" Naruto whispered to him. Sai smiled, looking after the blonde with understanding in his dark eye.

"Yeah." Sai said, and took another sip of the soup. Far above, invisible to anyone below, two ANBU left their station behind a chimney and silently leaped to the next house roof, keeping Deidara in their sights.

Deidara made a left turn into an alleyway, hardly watching where he was going. He needed to get away from the accusing glares of the passers-by, needed some time alone to think. However, he wasn't sure _what_ to think. Was he happy? He supposed so. _'Great, so at least one guy trusts me.'_ he thought. _'That makes well, not counting Sai, of course... a total of four people who trust me now. Naruto, that girl...Sakura? Kiba, and that old guy Teuchi. Doesn't make me feel a whole lot better, though.'_

He was so absorbed in his thinking that he almost passed by a huddled figure sitting against the wall with a light blonde head buried in their arms. Deidara heard a small sniffling and then doubled back. A girl- long blonde hair with bangs, purple top and skirt with fishnet elbow sections that were apparently supposed to be fashionable. He remembered what Sai had told him about his friends back in Konoha- and recognized Yamanaka Ino, a chunin-level kunoichi. His first impulse was to continue on his way, but as his conscience scolded him Deidara gave a resigned sigh and crouched down so he could talk to the girl face-to-face.

"Hey, what's wrong, mm?" He questioned. Ino's head shot up and she glared at him with a tear-streaked face.

"What do you want, creeper?" she demanded, but her voice cracked. "Go away, and stop bothering me, you and that bastard Sai..."

Deidara immediately dropped his sympathetic tone. "What do you think you're doing, calling Sai that? I'm fine with it if you choose to hate me, but you're supposed to be his friend, mm! What did he ever do to you?"

"For one, he called me-" Ino broke off with a sudden sob. She had intended for it to be an angry retort, but as the memory shot back to the forefront of her mind her cloudy blue eyes welled up with tears once more. Bewildered, Deidara gaped at Ino's weeping form for a minute, before self-consciously sitting down across from her. He enjoyed the concept of fleeting and epheremal, but he hated seeing it in people, especially girls, whose emotions were as fleeting as butterflies. Perhaps that was why he had formed such close bonds with Sasori, and now Sai- they were reliable, they were predictable. Them being artists also had helped, for sure.

"Called you what, mm?" Deidara prompted, striving to make his voice as gentle as possible.

"Called me ugly!" Ino wailed.

The man stared at her, then a slow grin spread across his face and he began laughing. Ino's teary eyes opened wide with anger.

"What's so funny?" she demanded. "Go away! I don't need to talk with someone like you!"

"Ino- that's your name, right? You're so _stupid_, it's funny, mm! Sai told me that after Sakura punched him for calling her ugly, he decided that women must hate being called what they really are, and love being called the opposite!" Deidara's laugh echoed in the narrow alleyway. "Okay, so you didn't know, mm. Tell me what you did- did you slap him?"

"No!" Ino protested. She seemed to have forgotten that Deidara was once a criminal, talking as comfortably to him as if he were her own brother. "Of course not! Why would I? I ran away!"

"Poor, poor Sai... he must have really thought you were beautiful if he gathered up the courage to talk to you like that, mm." Deidara shook his head slowly. Ino looked down, ashamed of herself, and the man glanced at her. "Hey, are you blushing? Do you really like Sai?"

Ino started twisting a lock of hair around one finger. "Maybe..." she muttered, face growing redder and redder. "Not like I'll ever be able to talk to him, though. Not after that."

Deidara shrugged. _'Sai, I think now I'll finally be able to pay you back at least one of the favours I owe you. Besides, this girl looks like she really could use some help.'_

"If you want, I can talk to him for you." he offered. "He's too clueless to figure your reaction out on his own. Though really, all you need to do is ask him to go for a walk somewhere, and he'll accept. He loves taking strolls through somewhere quiet the most- I'd suggest the park, in the afternoon. Trust me- he would never refuse you if you asked."

Startled, Ino raised her head and met Deidara's gaze. There was not the slightest shadow of malice or malcontent there. In fact, with his ponytailed blonde head and crooked grin, he looked like a younger version of her father. She rubbed away the last tears and gave him a watery smile.

"Alright." she agreed. "I'll trust you."

* * *

Kakashi peered through the leaves of the tree. He was a master at camoflauge and staying undetected; the two would not be able to see, smell, hear, or otherwise sense him. Normally, the jonin would not involve himself in such matters. But this time was different. He had to see for himself.

"What the hell's this?" Deidara glared down at the black and white round ball. It stayed innocently still. He crossed his arms and glared at it harder.

Sai would have appeared oddly blank to anyone who didn't know him, but though his mouth was in an even line and his voice calm, his eyes actually bore a faint twinkle in them.

"It's called a football." He said. "Look." He jogged over to where Deidara was standing in the small field, and kicked the ball slightly to one side. Running after it, he stopped it neatly with the side of his foot and then waved to a puzzled blonde. "See? You kick it."

A delighted grin spread across Deidara's face, and he nodded eagerly. Thinking that he had gotten the message, Sai lifted his left foot and used the side of it once more to kick the ball in Deidara's direction. As it bounced through the grass, Deidara twirled around and kicked it in mid-air, sending the ball flying with such force that it bounced off Kakashi's tree and would have hit Sai if he hadn't dodged. Deidara burst out laughing at Sai's slightly exasperated expression.

"That was just precious, that expression on your face, mm!" He said through his hilarity. "Man, I coulda' killed you back there with that thing!'

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. _'Interesting...' _he thought, continuing to watch. _'His personality seems so much different than when I fought him. He seems younger, less embittered, less impulsive.' _Stealthily, he leapt out of the tree and into a different one, heading away.

Deidara glanced at the tree where Kakashi had once been. Good, the jonin was gone. Not that he minded him spying, really, but he felt that what he had to say next concerned Sai alone.

"Going anywhere this afternoon?" he asked casually. "I was wondering if you wanted to do some sunset training, mm. They're letting me keep some explosive clay now."

Sai fiddled with the end of his ponytail. "I'm sorry, Deidara." his voice was slightly sheepish. "But I'm going to the park today with someone later on."

"A girl?" Deidara pretended to be surprised; he had always been a good actor. "Now _that's _news. Are you sure it wasn't Naruto using a concealment technique?"

"You offend my skills as a shinobi." Sai pretended to be affronted. "But... when I talked to her today, I had the strangest feeling. It almost made me... what's the word."

"Giddy. Happy. Overjoyed. Those are a few, mm." Deidara supplied. "Sai, my man, you like the girl. Giving it some time, you love her. But hey, what am I saying? Who's the lucky one?"

"Ino, Yamanaka Ino. She once was loud and obnoxious, but now she's really kind and attentive and... She's changed from when I last saw her. Maybe it was the death of her team leader that triggered it, but whatever happened, it made her beautiful on the inside as well as out." Sai fell silent, acutely aware that he had said far more than his original intention. But Deidara was nodding, nodding if he had expected such an answer.

"But there's no way you can go like that, mm. Without my help, you'll mess everything up." Deidara said confidently, and clapped Sai on the back. "So that's why I'm going to be a nice guy and help you out!"

* * *

One brown leaf, shaken by the brisk wind, finally gave up its life and broke off of the branch it once called home. Sai watched it fall. His long ponytail blew a little ways to the side, each strand dancing in air. His hands grew cold, and he stuck them in his pockets, feeling with his hand the reassuring little box that was resting in his left pocket. Squirrels were running around all over the place dashing from tree to tree and helping the birds fill the air with noise by adding their unceasing chittering. However, the skies were a bright, clear blue with no clouds marring their purity. Slightly nervously, Sai reviewed his books and what Deidara had told him.

_'Hmm.. "If meeting with a girl, it is typical to give her a gift, usually flowers or jewelry." Check. "Sai, you gotta be poetic, mm. They love that." ... poetic? I was never one for being eloquent...'_ He looked at the sun, judging the time to be around five o'clock. Even as he did so, a sweet voice called his name.

"Sai!" Ino was running his way, up the cobblestone path. She was neatly dressed in a violet sweater and skirt, her small slippered feet stepping noisily on crinkling leaves. Sai mentally prepared himself.

"Hello, Ino. Your eyes look bluer than the sky today." While she was pleasantly distracted by his compliment, he took out the box and opened it, holding out to her a small bracelet. "I read that most people appreciate gifts when you meet up with them, so I got this for you." Ino accepted it rahter shyly and ducked her head, murmuring thanks. Her eyes flickered to Sai's face and then back down to the ground again. The boy was confused, and nervous. He had prepared for all kinds of reactions, but not this. As the silence stretched out, he asked, "Do you not like it?"

"No, no, it's beautiful. It's just that... I've never seen you wear anything other than black before. It looks good." Ino glanced over Sai's dark green turtleneck.

"Deidara pressured me into wearing it." Sai admitted. "I don't know why, when all my clothes serve me so faithfully, but he seemed to think it was a necessary addition to my closet." Ino began walking, and he fell into step beside her.

"The Akatsuki guy, right?" Ino asked. Sai winced at the mention of the name and nodded. "Like, I don't see why everyone thinks he's so bad. I talked to him today- he seems kinda hot-headed but at the same time, he's really nice."

"He _is_ a bit loud sometimes. But he's a great friend." Sai agreed.

"Shikamaru's like that too." Ino added. "Not loud, but like, annoying some-"

"Troublesome." Sai interjected, and Ino smiled at the joke.

"Yeah, troublesome's the word. Still, he and Choji are amazing teammates. I remember this one time I was bored out of my mind at the flower shop, sales were going slow and all, since I have to work certain shifts there. It's my family's store, you know, so it's not like I have a choice. And so Shikamaru and Choji came by, asked me if I wanted to go see a movie, and when they found out i couldn't then they sat with me and helped out." Ino's eyes were distant, with the glaze of someone reminiscing about days long gone by. Sai listened with interest, taking in every word that she said. "There was this other time, too, when we were little. This was before you joined Naruto's team. We had to fight these huge guys, and we worked together so well, it was like our first real solo fight. Of course we couldn't win against them back then, but it was a close thing." She looked up at him, and then seemed to realize something. "Oh, sorry!"

"For what?" he asked.

Ino seemed sheepish. "For talking too much. I must be boring you, but I can't really help it."

"No, that's quite all right." Sai smiled. "I like hearing your voice." A faint blush crept across Ino's cheeks and her right hand started to toy nervously with the new bracelet on her left wrist.

"So do you draw a lot?" Ino asked.

"A good deal, actually. I also paint, and I've experimented with pottery, but after a few tries I've decided to leave that particular line of art to Deidara. If you saw the shapeless lumps of clay I made, then you'd agree." Sai's smile widened slightly as Ino giggled at his second joke of the day. Finally, he was getting the hang of 'humour'.

* * *

Deidara waved a good-bye to Teuchi and turned away, heading down a smaller, empty street. The shadows were growing ever long, and the light in the sky was dimming. Stars were beginning to shine far above in the heavens, while the sun dipped below the horizon. Unconsciously, his steps quickened as the dark grew. Following stealthily behind was another figure, coming ever closer...

* * *

"Do you want me to walk you home?" Sai offered. Ino shook her head.

"It's all right, if you really want to stay for a while longer here then you don't have to make the long trip to my house. I'll be fine- the town's busy on Thursday nights." Ino waved at him as she left. "See you!" Another thing occured to her mind and she amended herself. "Tommorow, and the days after that!"

Sai laughed, and continued waving until she had gone out of sight. His hand dropped to his side and he plopped down on a wooden bench by the side of the path. _'Some day...'_ he reflected. _'But I feel full, a kind of quiet, cozy full, not an eaten-too-much full.' _ He sat in the dark for a little while longer, enjoying the slow chirping of crickets and the occassional hoots of an owl. It was getting chilly.

Sai rose to leave.

* * *

Deidara strode torward the opening of the street, where he could see lanterns and people walking about. Not that those particular people would want him to be in their midst, but at the moment he just wanted to get out of that alleyway.

A hand touched his shoulder, and he whirled around.

The man's fighting stance mirrored his own. After a moment, both of them relaxed.

"Hatake Kakashi." Deidara acknowledged. His voice was neutral. One could practically feel the tension crinkling in the air- what could someone say when they were facing someone who had previously torn their arm off using an interdimensional warping technique?

"Have you seen Sai?" the jonin drawled. He looked remarkably unruffled about the encounter, slouching as always. "Naruto wanted Team 7 to go for a movie."

Deidara raised an eyebrow. "Hm? Oh, well, he's on a date with Ino."

"Really, a date with the Yamanaka girl? Sai?" Kakashi said keenly, obviously interested. "Ah, nevermind. I'll ask him about it later. I just saw her skipping home a few minutes ago, but I can't find him anywhere."

"That's weird, mm. He should be back already." Deidara was puzzled. "It's getting real late."

Kakashi's grey eye glinted in the moonlight as he glanced up at the sky. "That it is." he said quietly. He appeared calm and collected, but his mind was racing far ahead. All of a sudden, the bits and pieces of information and hunches that he had been brooding on made sense. "Where did they go?" he asked sharply.

Deidara noticed his tone and caught on immediately. His eyes widened at the implications.

"The east park. Do you think...?"

"I don't know." Kakashi was already running. "But I have a bad feeling about this."

* * *

Sai took another step forward, and as soon as his foot brushed the tips of soft grass jets of water rose up around him, cutting off all escape.

"Hōryū: Raika no Jutsu!"

A jagged bolt of lightning danced out from under the shadow of the trees and hit the water, emitting a large crackling noise. Anything- or anyone- within the wall should have been electrocuted to death.

Two shinobi leaped down from their respective trees. One of them had dark, spiky black hair in a ponytail; the other had dark blue, almost black hair sticking out from underneath a bandana. Both of them wore headguards labeling them as being missing nin from Kumogakure, as indicated by the circle and waving shape on the metal plate, with a gash cut across it. Neither of them bore any sort of expression, but both of them for some reason wore heavily tinted sunglasses despite the darkness of the night time.

"Did we get him?" the black-haired one asked his partner, who shook his head and pointed to a spot of earth several metres away. Understanding, the former placed his hand on the ground. Lightning crackling from it, traveling through miniscule cracks in the earth torward the indicated area. Just before it reached, the earth in the spot crumbled and a dark shape shot out, landing safely out of range of the missile of energy. Sai appraised his two opponents.

"Kumo...gakure?" he wondered aloud. "Ah, I see. Defectors. What brings you to Konoha?"

"Our village has long had a history of trying to secure unique shinobi for their own use. The higher-ups would never admit it, but we know better from the past attempted capture of Kushina Uzumaki and the failure to retrieve Konoha's Byakugan. If we bring you back, a shinobi who utilizes an extremely versatile information-gathering skill, we will regain acceptance into our village." The spiky haired man said tonelessly. Sai attempted to read his eyes through the sunglasses, but it was impossible.

"You seem quite nonchalant for someone who has been banished from their village." Sai noted, preparing to fight. They weren't amused by his implied sarcasm. The second missing-nin tapped his partner on the shoulder, who nodded and leaped backwards. The remaining shinobi held his hands out above the ground. As Sai watched, water began streaming out of the earth, gathering as dozens of little droplets in the air. The grass withered, dirt beneath it becoming dry and cracked as each wisp of water left it with a little squelching noise.. Thinking quickly, Sai whipped out his scroll and began painting. He finished just in time; the man made a sweeping motion with his arm and the water droplets sped his way like bullets. A multitude of snakes made a vertical tunnel around Sai, the water harmlessly hitting their scales and rolling down.

Sai's ears caught the crackle of lightning. _'They wanted me to create a shield, so I could box myself in and make myself vunerable to an attack from the lightning-user.'_ Slightly exasperated by the stupidity of his opponents, he directed the snakes to shift slightly. Placing his foot on the miniscule steps they made within the tunnel, he jumped out of the ink enclosure and into the air, just as a wave of lightning hit the snakes.

There was a blinding flash of light. For a single, fleeting moment the night was illuminated; then it was gone. The two shinobi stood unaffected while Sai fell to the ground. He managed to land on his feet, but nearly fell over doing so.

_'My eye...'_ he thought, one hand over his normal black eye as it gave a painful throb. _'It's only temporary, but that lightning flash must have blinded it. I guess I have no choice- I'll need to use the other.'_ Moving quickly before his enemies made any further attack, he pulled off his eyepatch and stuffed it in his pocket, startled by how clear his vision was now. It was still pitch black, but there were the strangest flickerings of colour... his gaze shifted and he was met with a glowing red, yellow and orange figure. Nearby him was another, taller one with a slightly different outline.

_'What? Ah- I see. Orochimaru must have used a snake's eye for the transplant back then. Their infrared vision allows them to hunt prey in the dark... very fitting, right here, right now.'_ A strange feeling crawled it's way into Sai's body and he gave a tiny grin. _'Well, let's see just how well I can hunt __my__ prey!'_

He bent his knees, then launched himself forward with renewed speed. They both ducked under his kick and rolled to opposite sides. The taller one who lacked a bandana stayed in his field of vision while the shorter one went to the side, presumably trying to get into his blind spot.

"Ah, a pity..." Sai muttered, a curious gleam in his golden eye. "Shinobi from Kumogakure are usually far better than this... and there I was expecting them to give me a good fight." Executing a midair flip to hide the hand seals he made, he muttered, "Sūiton: Mizukiri!" Blades of water erupted from the ground to his left, cutting across the legs of the other water user and making them fall to their knees. He wasn't done, however, and drew three ink tigers in succession, who cornered the lightning-user. The man got rid of them quickly, but the tigers had bought Sai all the time he needed to dissapear into the earth again using an old Root concealment technique. He tunneled through the ground for half a minute, then popped up right behind the wounded water user. His opponent, seemingly panicked by the turning tides of battle, whipped out a multitude of explosive tags and tossed them wildly. Sai leapt backwards, easily dodging the explosion.

_'They're going to have to do more than that!' _he thought somewhat contemptously. His eye sought out the tell-tale heat trails that the Kumo-nin would have left behind in trying to escape... and found that he couldn't find them. Amid the dust, smoke, and debris, there was a multitude of red and orange particles that indicated heat everywhere. _'The explosion- they weren't trying to blow me up, they knew it would obscure my vision like this! To have made such a deduction, so quickly...'_

There was a familiar squelching noise, and Sai spun around, seeking it out. Five shuriken appeared from the now dispersing dust and he sidestepped to avoid them before the smoke behind him parted underneath a barrage of the bullet-like water droplets. Any normal shinobi would have been able to see them, but Sai, hampered by the confusing mass of heat signatures around him and still-blinded left eye, could not see a thing. Some of them passed by, but the rest hit him full-on in the back.

Sai pitched forward with a small cry of pain and shock. The world around him dimmed then brightened once more, and he shook his head furiously, keeping his footing with a supreme effort of will. The smoke was fading now and he could begin to see once more, but it had done its job. Growing dark circles were spreading across the back of Sai's brand new green sweater, staining the woolen cloth.

_'Why aren't they attacking...?' _ Sai thought, perplexed. _'I'm obviously in a bad enough state... they could drag me away to their village quite easily by now...'_

His ears perked up, catching some barely audible whispers.

"I'll see what it is, hold on... _Byakugan!_"

Sai's eye widened. _'The Byakugan is a Konoha-only doujutsu... a shinobi from Kumogakure shouldn't have it...' _Then the Byakugan-user spoke again, and all of his suspicions- and fears- were confirmed.

"Terai, how are we going to take him out now? There's something strange going on." That settled it. Sai recognized Terai's name from several years back, when he had been paired with him for an espionage mission upon Kirigakure. He allowed them to continue talking, taking the chance for a brief respite and fooling them into thinking that he hadn't caught onto their true identities. Byakugan Root shinobi... it had to be Hyō. He had never seen the man without his mask, but he had known that unruly hair from _somewhere_... Sai took a deep breath, trying to ignore the fiery pain from his back and shoulder blades.

"What is it?" Terai spoke for the first time. His voice was soft and quiet, almost like a girl's. If not for seeing his strong face and dark blue chin stubble earlier, Sai would have mistaken him for one.

"There are little trails of chakra in his blood... it's almost as if his chakra network was once severely damaged, and now leaks into his bloodstream. I know of jutsus that could affect the tenketsu, but the entire network?"

An idea occured to Sai. He felt strangely alive, as awake as if he had drank several cups of caffeine. Instead of making his thoughts muddled, the pain made them clear as day. He rolled up his sleeve and watched the blood stream down his arm, before holding it out in front of him and wiping as much as possible off. He took out his brush and dipped it in the blood-soaked sleeve, painting a creature on his arm. _'If I infuse my ink with chakra... what would happen if I used my own blood?'_ It was difficult going, but he wasn't a talented artist for nothing. As soon as he finished the last ear-tuft, the shining red lines rippled and rose off of his pale skin, growing in size. The deep red tiger crouched on the ground, tail flickering back and forth. Its eyes, instead of being the blank white spots that were normally present on Sai's ink animals, were glowing red. It had a voice, too, as proved by its rumbling roar. Immediately it leaped at a tree to his left, chasing out the two Foundation shinobi. Hyō tried to cut through it with his lightning, but instead of exploding harmlessly like an ink tiger would have done it simply shook off the attack and continued its lunge, tearing at Hyō's face and throat before dissapating in a blaze of lightning.

Heedless of the possible risk, Sai drew two more tigers. Terai was more cautious now and drew his tantō, cutting off their paws in several exceptionally swift strokes. The tigers roared in unison, falling onto their sides, but they did not dissapate just yet. As soon as Terai ran past them, one tiger began to dissolve, its lifeblood becoming part of the second, who assimilated it and leaped after Terai.

The man had no idea what was coming. He went down quickly with dripping fangs in the back of his neck. Sai stared blankly as the last beast melted into a pool of blood, mingling with that of Hyō and Terai's. His eyelids flickered and he smiled, at last falling to his knees.

_'I did it...'_ he thought numbly.

Footsteps. A cry.

"Sai! Hey, mm!" Someone took him in their arms, but he recoiled with a small cry as his back was brushed against and the arrival immediately adjusted their grip to avoid hurting him. "You bastard, you're supposed to wait for your partner before fighting, mm!"

"Sorry, Deidara..." Sai mumbled. "I had a fun date, though..."

"No doubt it was very eventful." Kakashi knelt down in front of Sai, his grey eye intense. "Was it just these two Kumo-nin who attacked you?"

"Not Kumo." Sai managed to rasp. "You can't see now, but one had the Byakugan. They're from the Foundation. Danzō-sama must have ordered them to attack me... Kakashi-sensei, Deidara... he can't know. He can't know that I know."

"I get it." Deidara was uncharacteristically serious. "Let's get you to the hospital and have you fixed up before your next date with Ino, alright?"

Sai finally let himself relax as he switched his gaze from the face of his old teacher to his best friend. He was lucky to have such friends that he could trust to keep his secret safe.

"Alright."

* * *

Alright, I know this sounds cheesy, but I wanted to list and thank all the reviewers who keep coming back =) It's making me embarassed, but I just wanted to do it, so... thank you to Tamuril2, Lucathia Rykatu, Dr. Stilla Live, EVA-Saiyajin, Candygirl999, and (last but not least!) Glitterthorn. I was considered making up nicknames, but I wasn't quite sure how they would be taken. (Well, at least I'm better than Sai at making them up =S Then again, anyone's better.)

Argh.. corny things that make me want to hide in a closet aside, I've got a few announcements.

Nice and fluffy chapter I hope. Except for the ending fight, which was anything but fluffy, I enjoyed writing it all. I wish to make a sincere apology to all SaiSaku fans or SaiHina fans or SaiNaru... etc. So no worries- romance won't be a major part of this story. It'll definitely be there, but not a feature.

Gotta say that was the longest fight scene I've written in a while, though... how was it? I had to take a lot of liberty in the powers of the two Foundation members, since unfortunately the only fight scenes we get from the Foundation are those involving Sai (which are in themselves too skimpy in the series, he could have a lot of potential). It's sorta the same with the ANBU- you always hear of their exploits, never see them, and have to judge by their reputation. The only real ANBU-level fight we got in the series was the one during Pein's attack on Konoha. Now _that_ was some impressive collaboration jutsu!


	22. Bonds of Trust: Part Four

**Bonds of Trust: Part Four:**

**War**

* * *

Sai pulled his coat tighter about him, movements stiff and hesitant. He wore a long knit scarf that was just like Deidara's blue one, except it was dark green with a little heart on one end. Both of their scarves had been knitted for them by Ino, who had a purple one of her own.

"You alright?" Deidara asked. "You shouldn't have left the hospital so early, mm."

"There's only so much time I can spend there, Deidara." Sai deadpanned. "I believe that I have memorized every bump in the ceiling of my room by now."

"It sounds interesting to me." Deidara tried to keep a straight face as Sai just looked at him and found he couldn't. He burst out into laughter, but then quickly sobered up as a group of people approached. Kiba, Shikamaru, Choji, Shino, Neji, Hinata, Rock Lee, Tenten, and Naruto. Most of the group that had been together from the very first day of Academy classes, so long ago. Back then, while they had been learning their manners and how to treat other people kindly, Sai had been learning how to be a cold-blooded killer. Now, within moments, he was surrounded.

Sai had never fit in very well with the others. They were the Konoha 11, and he was always the outsider, never completely getting their little squabbles or jokes, never able to share the same memories as they could. Thus, now he was surprised by amount of attention he was receiving. They were obviously making an effort to secure his friendship now that they knew he was in a troubled time, and while he was grateful, it just didn't feel right. Just half a year ago he would have been eagerly accepting it; now he found himself wishing they would go away. He wanted nothing more than to escape their loud chatter and find somewhere quiet where he and Deidara could walk, maybe discuss some art or the weather.

Deidara stood awkwardly on the outside of the group. A little, polite smile was frozen on his face as he watched Sai's head turn this way and that, the boy answering questions on all sides and participating in the general merriment. It _looked_ like Sai was having fun, so it came as a surprise when Sai managed to get to the edge of the group and break free, heading over to stand by him.

"Rough crowd, mm?" Deidara asked, amused. Sai gave him a tiny nod.

"Too rough." he replied. "Want to go visit the art shop? I want to show you the kiln clay they have in stock now."

"Kiln clay?" Deidara queried as they began walking.

Sai was about to reply when someone hollered his name.

"Hey, Sai!" He turned and saw the group looking at him, Shikamaru waving. "Are you sure you don't want to come with us to the river?"

"I'm fine, thank you!" Sai called back, and without further delay resumed talking to Deidara. The duo rounded a bend, and the Konoha 11 went out of sight. "I couldn't swim anyways due to my injuries- have they forgotten?"

Deidara gave a small chuckle. "I suppose so."

The abandoned cluster of chunin (and one jonin, one genin) behind them milled around uncertainly.

"Typical coldhearted bastard!" Naruto harrumphed, completely forgetting his earlier sentiments. "Not wanting to hang out with us all after so long!"

"Sai-kun's reaction is understandable. He does not want to 'hang out' with us. Why, you ask? Because he has spent months becoming acquainted with primarily one individual. It's obvious. When faced with a multitude of people, he naturally becomes panicked and believes to possess no other option but retreat." Shino said through his cowl. Tenten let out an exaggerated sigh.

"Sheesh, Shino, why do you always have to make things hard to understand?" When the boy declined to respond, she turned to Hinata for help. "Hinata, you can understand what Shino mumbles by now. What did he mean?"

Hinata gave a small start at being put on the spot, and momentarily fumbled for words.

"I think that what Shino-kun means is that Sai-kun's probably uncomfortable... with a lot of people a-around..." She ducked her head, consciously aware that she could have been talking about herself. However, as no one else seemed to notice, Hinata let her death grip on Naruto's hand relax.

* * *

"Are you sure it's all right leaving your 'children' behind like that? They'll miss their grandpa... Although those two you provided me with earlier were so much fun~ !" The orange-masked man asked in a girlish, high-pitched voice. Impishly he placed his gloved hands on his hips and wagged a finger at the man opposite him.

His opponent's single visible eye glittered, but with what it was hard to tell. Fear? No, definitely not. Anger? Not that... Certainly not amusement... but then, what?

"My subordinates are sure of my swift return." he replied coolly, unbandaged hand traveling up to the bandages around his head. "For that matter, where is your own little tag-along?"

For a long moment, there was silence as the two old enemies stared each other down. Finally the masked one broke the silence. At least, the voice came from his mouth- but this voice was much deeper and much more frightening in comparison to the playful persona of earlier.

"Dealing with- I believe it is my great-grand nephew. Almost lost track of my clan there... but you know young ones these days. Always so quick to add another grand- to the list."

* * *

A full moon shone down upon Konoha, illuminating the streets that still held the occasional passers-by. People were taking advantage of bright silvery light of the harvest moon to stay out extra late, hurrying to and fro from party to party. A group of young pre-genin were camping out by a large tower-like monument, looking up at the moon with huge eyes and listening to their sensei tell them stories. For them, it was an adventure being out so late, even if they _were_ still in the village and thus completely safe. On an apartment house roof nearby, two figures were stretched out with their arms behind their heads, staring into the night sky that was speckled with hundreds of stars. Both were dressed in preparation to go to sleep, with long sleeved half-kimonos and plain black wool pants.

"See that haze that kind of looks like a far-off starry cloud?" Deidara commented. When Sai mumbled agreement, he continued. "I bet a star exploded and made that, mm. What I'd give to see a _star_ exploding! That would be the ultimate _ultimate_ art, mm!"

"I doubt you'd want to be anywhere near the star when it did." Sai put in dryly.

Deidara scowled in response and fingered some of his explosive clay. He had been allowed, after two weeks of showing no violent tendencies, to have some on him. Not as much as he would have liked, but it was a comfort to have that familiar weight at his belt again, to feel that slightly gritty and yet so smooth texture. An owl hooted somewhere in the distance, and he began shaping the likeness of one. Owls were his favourite for tight maneuvering activities as well as missions where stealth was a necessity. Doves were much faster fliers, though, and served him well over long distance traveling. It was finished within a matter of moments, and he stared at it longingly, imagining turning it into its full size and exploding it.

"Deidara." Sai said warningly. The man huffed and put down the model.

"I know, I know." he replied grudgingly.

The sounds of the village began to die away as crowds dispersed and the camping pre-genin crawled into their sleeping bags. Sai rolled over onto his side and closed his eyes, apparently undisturbed by the cold. Deidara glanced his way then looked skyward, searching for the nebula he had spotted earlier. Then, rising from the black mass of trees on the skyline, a dark shape glided over the moon.

Deidara sat bolt upright. "What the..." A large, dark mass was advancing silently, blotting out the faint light of the stars. He heard the faint _swish_ of a brush against paper.

"Get your owl ready. We're going to check it out." Sai said briefly as he clambered onto the feathery back of the waiting ink hawk. There was a barely audible whistling noise, then an explosion. Bright orange flames pierced the night, finally revealing who the mysterious- and malevolent- visitors were. Deidara gaped at them, his now fully-sized clay owl forgotten.

Dozens of yellow, winged objects flew unaided in the sky, each bearing a strange shinobi with a heavy cowl and purple flak jacket. They would have looked comical if not for the kunai launchers they carried or the occasional hail of explosive tags. Even as he watched, several invaders fanned out and began peppering the people below them with a downpour of small, sharp blades. A stream of fire came from some hidden alley and incinerated two flying machines, but more kept coming. Deidara shook off his shock and hopped onto his owl.

"How much clay do you have left?" Sai called over, already in the air. Deidara tapped the owl with one foot and soared after him, sticking on hand in his side pouch to check. His fingers were met with empty space and the last vestiges of sticky clay clinging to the sides. With a disappointed exclamation, he returned his attention to his friend.

"Barely any!" He saw Sai bite his lip, deep in thought. The boy reached into one of his jacket pockets and draw out a wad of paper, which he tossed over to Deidara. The blonde caught it and unwrapped it, finding a good amount of explosive tags.

"I guess we can't use _that_ jutsu..." Deidara sighed. "Alright, let's split up to where we're most needed, mm." His owl swooped westwards into a fierce headwind, blowing his hair backwards. His young face split into a wide, exhilarated grin upon hearing another explosion. It had been too long since he had felt such beautiful battle lust racing through his veins, too long since he had heard the sound of lives coming to an abrupt, wonderfully artistic end. Human life was so fleeting even by itself, but in a battle others tried to make it shorter than it already was.

Deidara shot by one enemy, sticking a tag onto their craft as he passed. On a whim, he looked back and saw a shocked face staring back at him.

_'That's right, you're not the only bastards who can fly!' _he thought gleefully. The man gave his opponent a cheeky wave and mouthed the 'release' command. That startled, jaded face quickly vanished in a blaze of yellow flames and billowing grey smoke. The thunderclap resounding from his attack left Deidara's ears ringing. He dodged sideways to avoid a collision and stole a glance at the ground below. Konoha's shinobi were fighting back, leaping up buildings to get at those in the sky or sending long-distance attacks with a large variety of elements.

A small, oddly shaped explosion caught his eye, and he banked to the left to get a better view.

Deidara's eyes widened as panic took root in his body. The large statue which the children had been camping under had been broken at the base, and was slowly toppling forwards. They screamed and ran, but nobody with the speed to save them was nearby.

He hadn't been trained for this. He hadn't trained to save lives- yet still, his mind shifted through endless possibilities, narrowing down every possibility to just two. He grimaced. Both were extremely unappealing. One, he could just let the kids die. Two, he could destroy the falling monolith. However, he wouldn't be able to destroy it with just tags. He needed clay. And the only clay he had was...

It was beginning to fall faster now. Deidara made up his mind and commanded the owl to dart forwards, heading on a straight collision course with the statue.

Sai glanced downwards from where he had been fighting four sky-nin at once. He saw the speeding owl, and immediately knew what Deidara was planning to do. Dodging a barrage of kunai he attempted to break free and fly after the man, but another invader blocked his way.

Deidara watched the statue get closer and closer. Then, just a little bit before he would have hit it, he leaped off of the owl and interlocked his fingers to form his unique 'release' seal in midair.

"Katsu!" he yelled out, voice hoarse from the smoke of several burning buildings. The owl hit the stone figure and exploded, sending dark grey smoke everywhere. The children and their teacher cried out as various small debris rained down on them, coating them in pale dust.

Deidara stared wistfully at the sky. Just before the smoke from his owl's collision blotted it out, he spied the nebula that he and Sai had been talking about just a little while ago. Now, as the earth rushed up to embrace him, it showed its face once more. _'Mocking me...'_ he thought bitterly. _'It knows that I won't be able to fly after it anymore...'_ The ground was very close now, and he braced himself for the impact and impending darkness.

_Thump_. There was an impact, all right, but it was softer, and concentrated in the crook of his knees and upper back. Deidara found himself in the arms of a masked, fully suited ANBU. Craning his neck to get a good look at the mask, he saw that it was the same mouse-masked man who had been guarding him so long ago in the hospital.

Mouse landed lightly on the ground and let Deidara get to his feet, who brushed dirt off of his kimono shirt and eyed him warily.

"Here." Mouse offered him something round, and white, and sticky, and... _clay?_ Deidara took it, staring at him in disbelief. "Hokage-sama orders you to keep fighting. Your aerial skills are vital to the defense of Konoha in this particular attack."

The bomber couldn't believe his ears. "Me? They're trus-" and quickly clamped his mouth shut. He was sure this order wasn't given lightly, and he wasn't about to give the higher-ups the least suspicion that he would do anything to harm the village. Ripping off a small piece, he stuffed the rest in his true and tried clay pouch. The mouth of his right palm prepared the clay, and when it was ready he used the same hand to make another owl. Mounting this one, he took off. Spotting Sai trying to fend off a total of five sky-nin, he formed a clay butterfly. Seemingly harmless, it drifted closer and latched onto one opponent's shoulder. Deidara yelled a command, and the resulting explosion took the unfortunate man's life and another man's with it.

"Deidara! How-"

"No time to explain!" he cut Sai's question off. "C'mon, it's the perfect time now to show these friends of yours just what kind of a team we are, mm!"

Understanding, Sai whipped out his scroll and brush and unrolled a large length of paper. His inked brush danced lightly across the scroll, creating spikes, claws, scales... Finishing, Sai carefully placed the paper on the bird's back and stepped back three paces to allow the creature room.

"Ninpou: Choju Giga!" he said firmly, as if speaking to an unruly dog.

The paper trembled slightly as a huge, horned head burst from the paper, gaping maw open in a silent roar. Following the head came a long body with a wickedly spiked tail. As the dragon launched itself into the night, gigantic paper-white wings unfolded. It trained a baleful eye on the invaders, wings beating slowly to keep it aloft.

Deidara cursed quietly to himself. _'Dangit, Sai's already done... I'm far outta practice...'_ However, he still took his time to make his small, unassuming clay bird perfect. It wasn't any ordinary bomb. Any little mistake in its creation would harm them as well as their enemies. After ten more seconds, Deidara deemed it ready and tossed it lightly into the air. The bird flew towards the dragon, who whipped around and snapped it up.

Jeers of derision sounded around them from the sky-nin, who were massing for another attack. Sai simply gave them a serene smile and waited for his partner. Deidara cried a command. There was the noise of a muffled explosion, and smoke trailed from the dragon's pointed ears, but it remained intact. The smug faces of the enemy shinobi slowly faded.

Suddenly, the dragon opened its mouth and breathed forth a torrent of fire, intermixed with some smoke. It flew haphazardly, swinging its head back and forth to maximize the damage. Sai counted a total of ten unlucky victims before he was forced to turn his attention elsewhere.

"Nice one, mm!" Deidara threw Sai a thumbs up, forgetting that the boy shouldn't have been able to see it in the dim light of the distant fires. "C'mon- I still have lots left, and our fiery friend isn't going to last much longer. I'm going to get some aerial C2s ready and target the other team's bombers, mm. Your jutsu is safer at close quarters, so-"

"Go down and get the ones closer to the streets." Sai finished, already beginning to fly away. "I understand."

The sky slowly lightened as the night wore on. Deidara leaped off of his owl and landed harshly on a rooftop, rolling to lessen the impact. Behind him, the enemy triggered the explosive seal stuck on his bird and destroyed it. Clay rained down everywhere. The blonde's breath wheezed in his dusty throat as he leaped to another building, attempting to buy enough time to make a smaller dove to attack with. _'Bombers eliminated... but it was easier said than done.'_ he thought ruefully. _'Why can't this git be among those retreating?'_

"Duck!"

Acting on autopilot, Deidara's body reacted to the shouted warning and he threw himself down, trusting that it was a friend who had yelled and not an enemy. He heard a rumbling, and glanced backwards to see a spiraling vortex of wind tear through the air behind him and tear the flying machine pursuing him into pieces. The rider, although unaffected, was hurled through the air by the force of the wind and fell somewhere in the streets below them. He got to his feet rather unsteadily and looked around. A tall shinobi with long brown hair gave him a wave and a nod before climbing down the building. Deidara stood confused for a moment, shocked that the man had bothered to warn him before attacking, before following his example and heading down to the street.

The world was lighter now, the first pale yellows and pinks of dawn appearing in the skies above through a haze of smoke. Sai met up with him at a rubble-filled intersection, and together they headed silently down the street. The whole battle, though it had taken half the night, seemed only like a half-remembered dream.

"It's unreal." Sai said quietly, gazing around at the damage around them. "I can only imagine what Konohagakure looked like after the invasion of Pein..."

Deidara forced a chuckle. "I already knew he was strong, but I could have never imagined he'd be that strong, even with six of him, mm. And you said that he defected too, right? In the end."

"In the end, yes, just before he died." Sai said flatly. "We defected and we're still living, in a sense. I'm sure that traitors to the Akatsuki are marked men-" he paused, thinking of Konan. "Or women, for the rest of their short, unhappy lives."

"Mm." Deidara didn't want to think about all of the troubles plaguing them at the moment, so soon after a long, wearying battle. They crossed over to a different street and stopped.

Blocking their way was a crowd of people. Men, women, children. They had been talking before, but as the two came into sight a hush fell over them. Sai glanced at Deidara, who steeled himself and nodded at his friend.

Together, they advanced. The Konoha villagers were silent, staring at them with blank faces. The duo was about to walk past them when there was a shout, and several children struggled free of their mothers, running to them. Soon a little crowd surrounded the two. Sai recognized them as the very children whom Deidara had saved from being crushed by the falling stone statue. Smiling, he stepped away, allowing the kids to crowd around his confused partner.

"Deidara-san, you were so awesome!" One little boy cried.

"Please, Deidara-san, how did you do that? Teach me how to make big monsters like that pleasey!" An orange-haired girl pleaded, her dark blue eyes huge and hopeful.

"Thank you so much, Deidara-san!" Another young voice rang out, and cries of agreement resounded among the children. Deidara was at a loss for words, and gave a little gasp of shock as a little dark-haired girl pushed through the crowd and threw her arms around his legs, which was as far as she could reach. Soon the other children followed suit. Dazedly he glanced up at Sai, who smiled and nodded at him. His gaze turned to the villagers. There was no mistrust in their eyes now. A few mother's eyes were soft as they looked at their kids, alive and well, thanks to this strange blonde man with mouths on his palms.

"Dei-chan..." A tiny voice sobbed. "I thought I was going to die but you saved us!"

The stress was far too much. Days, weeks of distrust and hatred all focused on him came to the forefront of Deidara's mind as he stared at the children. _'Was it really such a big thing, what I did...?' _ A tsunami of old childhood memories and emotions cascaded onto him, and frantically he tried to keep them back. But then, as he met a sea of wide young eyes, the barrier broke. Deidara's mouth trembled, and he sank to his knees, tears streaming down his face as he hugged his little friends back.

Sai watched slightly worriedly as Deidara closed his eyes tightly to try and keep any more tears from leaking out. _'He's been holding in those emotions for so long that finally unleashing them, they're uncontrollable... He's probably ashamed of himself for showing this side of him to be let out. But it's a good thing- no, an amazing thing, to show just this once that it exists at all.' _

* * *

Unexpected plot twist, right? I don't know if any of you recognize these sky invaders- I took the liberty of including them from the second Shippuden movie. Not that stupid girl and her master, just the nation. Prepare for an even greater surprise in the next chapter, though!

I'm aware that arcs in this story usually run to about four (well, 3-5) chapters, but this one isn't even close to finishing yet. It's probably the most important one, and I want to take the time to make it good. Battles are difficult for me to write and they take a lot of time, and a war is pretty much a string of battles (of course, they won't all be centered around the same person) and strategy meetings. There'll be some non-violent+fluffly scenes thrown in, though, it won't be entirely (Or even mostly?) fighting.

Ehh.. I've been planning that surprise attacks for months now, ever since around.. chapter 10? Nah, earlier. It's so nice finally being able to write it, but slightly saddening as well when I think about what it means for the story.

One last thing- Alright, so Deidara didn't blow those kids up... and he actually seemed moved. I know it was rather OOC of him, but he's been slowly changing ever since being reintroduced into village life again (or so I'd like to think).


	23. Bonds of Trust: Part Five

**Bonds of Trust: Part Five:**

**Switching Places**

* * *

The village was unusually quiet one cold November morning. Even though it was only about six in the morning, there were usually a good deal of shinobi up and about. Shopkeepers would be readying their stores, bakers would be baking fresh bread for that day, florists would be setting out a display of flowers that matched the day's weather and the season. Yet there were few flowers that would stand out in the heavy fog rolling across the ground. Patrollers strolling across the top of the village walls were on high alert, eyes darting to and fro. The village gates had been opened just a few minutes ago, as a trade caravan was expected to pass through that gloomy morning. There were two highly competent and experienced guards constantly posted in a small watch-house by the gate, just inside the village walls. They had been faithfully following their duty of an all-night watch, hardly even lifting their eyes off of the gates... until just a few minutes ago, when one of them nodded off. The second, black-haired one soon followed his example, his soft snoring hardly making an impression on the choking silence laid down by the fog.

A dark shape began to form in the recesses of the white mists, steadily growing clearer. Izumo grunted in his sleep and shifted, but did not awake. The figure continued to approach. He walked with a heavy limp, as if he was still recovering from some horrible battle. Despite his obvious approach, the sentries did not notice him. The boy- for now it could be seen that he was still a boy, although on the older side- continued walking. Leaves swirled about his feet as a chilly wind blew away some fog. His dark charcoal eyes were half-lidded, looking as if they had seen all of the world and more in too short of a time. He dragged his feet, leaving behind two small furrows in the dust of the road. As the boy passed the two sleeping tokubetsu jonin, they stirred. Perhaps it was the faint noise of his feet against the ground, or his ragged breathing. Both jonin yawned widely and then blinked twice at the boy.

Sasuke stopped in his tracks, staring at the ground. His hair fell limply around the side of his face, still in its infamous duck-tail shape, but hanging listlessly as if it had grown tired of the style.

"Hey..." Izumo started to rise from his seat, but then Sasuke fell down facefirst into the dirt. "Hey!"

* * *

Sai absentmindedly trailed a hand in the water, leaving behind ripples in the calmer water near the edge of the small river. He was lying on his stomach by the riverside, his other hand cupped against his cheek. His eye was half-lidded and blank, mouth turned ever so slightly downwards. A brown leaf drifted through the air and landed on the water, drawing his attention for the merest of moments before he immersed himself in thought once more.

A certain blonde was watching him uncertainly, leaning against a tree. He wasn't sure what to say, words of comfort, congratulations, or just avoid the topic altogether. Finally he chose the third and hopefully safest option.

"Want to head back? I'll get us some dinner." he offered.

"No." The word was quick and curt. Deidara flinched, but persisted.

"You can invite your friends if you want, mm. I'm fine with them now." he waited for an answer, but when there was none he raised his voice. A squirrel in the tree he was leaning against chittered angrily as it was disturbed from its sleep. "Hey, do you hear me? You can invite your teammates, yeah!"

"There's no point. Naruto and Sakura are visiting Sasuke-kun in the hospital." Sai replied, and Deidara immediately put his guard up at the tone.

"I thought they just visited him a few hours ago?" The words were spoken cautiously.

Sai shook his head. "They never left." He continued to lie down, uninterested in continuing the conversation. _'If __Danz__ō__-sama is truly dead like we have feared, and Sasuke is once more a citizen of Konoha... will I be reassigned? Where will I be sent? With the war going on, three-man teams will probably be reassigned to battle duties best suited to their abilities, but assuming that we survive this war, what will happen to Team Seven after that? As an ex-ANBU, I still possess the rank of chunin, but a regular chunin can't lead a team just like that.'_ Another thought occurred to him. _'Also, now that Sasuke's back, I sincerely doubt that Naruto and Sakura would want to have anything to do with me. A replacement is never as good enough as the real thing, after all.'_

Deidara hesitantly started to speak again, slightly worried over the long silence.

"Erm, well, maybe I can show you this painting I did this morning while you were asleep, mm."

Sai's right hand stopped dead in the water, and Deidara froze.

"You... touched my paint cabinet?"

Immediately realizing his mistake, Deidara hastened to make up an apology. "Hey, well, it was open, so I thought-"

"Nah, it's all right, Deidara." Sai got to his feet and brushed off the front of his black shirt as best as he could. Seeing the man's expression, he put on a smile. "I was actually half-hoping you'd find it and try out my own style of art. So, which do you prefer, painting or pottery?"

Relieved, Deidara fell into step beside him as they reentered the silent, brown forest. Their voices sounded abnormally loud amongst so much quiet. "Hah, the answer should be obvious, mm! I was so tempted to just burn my painting right after finishing it, it was that bad." He turned his head and saw Sai give him another smile, but Deidara's own smile faded and he studied his companion intently. "You're worrying about that Uchiha." he decided. "Tell me about him."

Sai looked straight ahead as he spoke. "I don't know much about him, myself. That's what worries me. The only impressions I got of him during our short times together were that he appears collected, but in reality is quick to anger."

"So am I, mm." Deidara pointed out, and Sai managed a chuckle.

"You're different. Sasuke-kun would have let those kids die, while you were ready to sacrifice yourself to save them. He always has to feel like he's the strongest, and in control of the situation. Despite his claims, he enjoys being the centre of attention. Hopefully he's different now, since he willingly returned and admitted to his mistakes... but I can't be sure."

"Mind if I come with you?" Deidara asked. "I'd like to see this Sasuke for myself." Suddenly, he tensed, easy stride skipping a beat before he resumed walking. Ever so slightly, he nudged Sai's body with his elbow.

"I know. Relax." Sai muttered to him. They both halted in unison, looking on as a little whirlwind of leaves announced a visitor. A shape appeared amidst the leaves, which then fell to reveal a masked ANBU kunoichi.

"Deidara, Sai." she acknowledged them. She didn't deign to tell them how she knew their names- the two of them already knew that their files had been carefully studied by a good number of ANBU, just in case. "You are summoned to the Hokage's office. Come with me, if you please."

Sai raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment. "Understood. Let's go."

_'Hokage's office? Me, too? Shit...'_ Deidara thought nervously as he leaped after Sai. The kunoichi was trailing them closely, probably making sure they didn't try to run away. _'How am I going to get out of this one?'_

The blonde was all for going through the open window when they arrived, but the ANBU kunoichi herded them through Tsunade's office door with an unspoken but clear refusal. The female Sannin was standing before her desk, looking at once intimidating and stern. Tsunade cleared her throat and glanced down at the papers she held, shuffling through them.

_'Neither of them have last names...'_ she thought dismally. _'Normally, it wouldn't be a bother, but since this is a serious occasion, the storage and files division is going to send delegates to bother me for hours on end about protocol.' _

"First up, Sai." she called, and Sai stepped forward, giving her a small bow.

"Yes, Hokage-sama?" he questioned. Deidara watched him slightly enviously. _'Why can't I be as calm as that?'_

"Your skills have advanced considerably, and have an extremely wide range of uses. On top of that, you have displayed the ability to lead and give commands, as well as mapping out situations before they occur. This war is driving Konoha short on your sort of shinobi. We need more like you, Sai. And unfortunately we do not have that kind of advanced cloning jutsu, so I believe that in order to use your abilities to the fullest an adjustment is needed. From this moment on, you will join the ranks of Konoha's jonin. You will co-lead the ambush squad starting in a few days, in the meantime of which you will get to know your squad."

Sai's eye widened ever so slightly in surprise, before he recovered and bowed again. "I will not fail in this duty you have given me, Tsunade-sama." Her russet eyes crinkled in a smile as she looked at him. He was still quite young, in ways, and right now seemed so endearingly serious, it was almost funny.

"I have complete trust in you that you won't. Now, Deidara." With a wave of her hand, Tsunade dismissed him, and Sai stepped backwards to allow Deidara to take his place. She regarded him impassively, and Deidara fidgeted in place. _'Kami, help me...'_ she prayed. _'I never thought that I'd be doing something like this... I just hope that I turn out to be right.'_ The woman put on a businesslike tone. "Deidara, formerly of Akatsuki, formerly of Iwagakure, I called you here for one purpose." The man in question gloomy waited for her verdict.

_'And I thought I was done with the whole damn 'criminal' thing...'_

"Your actions of late- well, I've been thinking about them for the past few months. But your actions have been consistent and true enough that I'm giving you a choice. You may become a citizen of Konoha.. This will entitle you to all the basic rights and protection that we offer to other villagers here. However, my advisors felt this would be a shameful waste. Thus, we conceived an alternative." The Hokage reached for an object resting on the desk behind her and held it out. Deidara stared at it dumbly.

It was a headband, a classic navy-blue headband with a shiny and brand-new silver forehead protector attached to it. Engraved neatly upon the metal was a swirling leaf- the symbol of Konoha, of the Land of Fire. Tsunade was speaking again, and he forced his eyes to leave the headband and look at her face.

"Normally, we'd have you accepted as a genin, but as you rightfully passed the chunin exams during your days in Iwagakure, I'm offering to you the position of chunin. You'll be able to take part in military activities and shinobi duties as well as civilian past-times. The choice is yours- civilian or shinobi. Either way, you are accepted as a member of our village."

Slowly, Deidara reached out and took the headband. "Hokage...sama." He added the honorific quickly. "I'd be honored to serve as a chunin. I'd be honored to be able to practice my art for the sake of this- for _my _village, and all the people in it, mm."

A wide grin broke out of Tsunade's face. "I was hoping you'd say that. With this, your ANBU guard is dismissed and I'll start filing your papers. Come back tomorrow an hour before noon and check in at the Services desk if you want to be fitted for a flak jacket."

"Yes, m'am!" Deidara grinned in return and saluted. A wave of happiness rose and threatened to engulf him; he could not stop smiling. Sai turned to him, clapping him on the shoulder in congratulations.

"I had faith in you, Deidara." Sai said happily. "Congratulations."

Deidara nodded enthusiastically. "Now it'll be just like old times, yeah! We can train together, go on missions together, just like we always did, mm." He paused, and his face fell. "Wait... you're Team Seven, still. I guess in your free time we can?"

"One moment." Sai turned to Tsunade, who was watching them curiously. "Tsunade-sama, if I may make a request?"

"Go ahead." she replied, interest piqued. _'Sai, asking something of his superiors? This will have to be good.'_

"Due to Sasuke's return, I am no longer needed as a replacement member of Team Seven. I request to form a new two-man team with Deidara and let Sasuke-kun join his rightful team once again."

Tsunade's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and for a moment she was speechless, staring at him. Sai was smiling again, head tilted lightly sideways, one visible eye closed. Nothing in his face suggested bitterness when he had spoken of Sasuke, and nothing suggested it now. Tsunade shook herself and chose her next words carefully.

"Sai, are you sure? Naruto and Sakura are very fond of you. Sasuke may join another team until he is ready to take the chunin exams and be on his own. You don't have to do this for theirs- or Deidara's- sake."

"For their sake?" Sai replied politely. "It's my own choice, Tsunade-sama. Deidara is my friend; I wish to form a team with him. Naruto and Sakura are Sasuke's rightful teammates, and I do not wish to stand in their way. We may still keep in touch. Leaving the team does not mean breaking the bonds that have formed between us. And besides, I work far better with Deidara than I do with Naruto and Sakura. Logically, this is the best choice."

Tsunade's eyes searched Sai's face, but found nothing there. "Alright." she agreed at last. "I'll have some papers for you to sign later. However, for the duration of this war, you are a part of the ambush squad and Deidara still remains to be assigned to a squad."

As they took their leave, Deidara turned to Sai with a frown.

"What was that all about, Sai?" he asked. "Sure, it was a good choice, and I'm happy that she let us be a team, but it was a bit fast for you, mm."

"It wasn't fast. It was one of the things I was planning earlier today, by the river." Sai admitted, but Deidara didn't let the matter go. His next question made Sai stop and search frantically for an acceptable answer.

"What else did you plan out?"

Thankfully, Sai was saved from answering by a very loud and orange-suited interruption.

"Oi, Sai!" Naruto yelled, running up to them. "Oh, hey, Deidara."

After Deidara returned the greeting, Sai said, "Naruto, are those flowers for Hinata?"

Naruto shook his head, holding up the varied bouquet of lilacs, daisies and tulips. "No, Sakura insisted that I run out and get these for Sasuke to brighten up his room. She didn't want to leave his bedside, so I had to go and get these for her. It was so annoying- believe it! But I'm heading back now, so I was thinking like, would you want to come with me? And, er-"

Sensing a potentially awkward situation, Deidara started to back away.

"Well, I'm kinda tired after that, mm. Going to take a nap back at the apartment. See ya, Sai, Naruto!"

"Bye, Deidara!" Sai called after him. "And yes, Naruto, I'd like to come. How is Sasuke, by the way?"

"Pretty tired, but he should be fine in a day or two." Naruto answered cheerfully. The Jinchuuriki didn't say it outright, but he had noticed Deidara's tactfulness and was grateful for it. _'Not that I don't want him to be there, but it would be really weird for Sasuke to have a stranger there. At least Sasuke met Sai before.'_

* * *

Sasuke sat up straight in bed, eyeing Sai distrustfully as the latter took a seat next to Naruto. Sakura had been trying to keep up a conversation with him while they were alone, telling him about what he had missed. However, Sasuke noted that her words seemed strained and uncertain, as if she was unsure of how he would respond. Eventually, she fell silent. _'Odd... Sakura's never been like this around me, before. It used to be so hard to get her to shut up.'_

"Heya, Sasuke." Naruto greeted him. "I'm back, I guess..." his voice wavered, and he fumbled for words. "

"I see you got me flowers." Sasuke put in, looking at the vase placed on his bedside stand. "Thank you, Naruto, Sakura. I guess that they are from Ino's shop? How is she doing?" He remembered Ino. For a while, she had almost been as bad as Sakura, fangirl-wise. He had never given much thought to her before, but remembered that he had always thought that Ino was the stronger of the two. Her clan's Hiden jutsu, the Mind-Body switch techniques, had always drawn his interest, and Ino herself wasn't such a bad girl if he overlooked the obsession. _'It's only natural that I ask after her now.'_ Sasuke reasoned.

"Ino-pig?" Sakura pouted. "Well, doing great and all, but I still can't believe she's going out with Sai!"

"Are you kidding? They're awesome as a couple!" Naruto protested. "Sai, don't you love Ino?"

"If 'love' means strong feelings of attraction and continues happiness in her presence, then yes, I do." Sai replied innocently. "I should think that we're more natural of a couple than you and Hinata. It's a wonder that she likes you, dickless."

Naruto's face turned bright red, and Sakura stifled- unsuccessfully- a laugh. "What did you just call me, you bastard?" he fumed, half-rising from his seat. Sai kept smiling.

"Dickless."

Sasuke simply looked on as Sakura held back a furious Naruto, who was hurling insults at a serene Sai. To anyone else, it would have looked like a serious fight. But Sasuke knew better than that. How many times had he fought with Naruto, himself? His choice of insults was different than Sai's, but both got the same results out of their teammate. Naruto wasn't _really_ angry at Sai, he could tell. They were just playing, joking around with each other like the best of friends. Sasuke had a feeling that this scene was just a repeat of previous 'fights'. It had happened before, many times.

"Excuse me, is there a Sai here?" An aide asked, poking his head in through the door.

"Right here." Sai answered sweetly, waving with one hand while using the other to push Naruto back onto his stool.

"Tsunade-sama said to tell you that your request to switch from Team Seven has been granted." The aide stated. Behind Sai, Naruto and Sakura's eyes widened with shock. "If you just sign these papers, you can make your partnership with Deidara-kun official."

Sai took the papers and the offered pen, going through each one and penning his name in the blanks.

"Hey- hold on, Sai! Why are you leaving our team?" Naruto protested, deeply hurt.

"So all this time, you hated us?" Sakura added. "I thought that you wanted to be a part of our team, Sai! You're our friend, aren't you?"

"Of course I'm still your friend. I simply am putting my skills to better use." Sai answered honestly.

Sasuke watched the scene unfold through narrowed eyes. _'I don't get it.'_ he thought, frustrated. _'Why are they sad over him leaving the team? He's just my replacement. They should be happy that I can join again, not brooding over him forming his own team!'_ An all-too familiar feeling began to burn deep within Sasuke once again. _'I thought that everything would be like it was. I thought that'd we'd all be one again. It's not fair! After all that I struggled through... after finally forgiving Itachi and returning home... I thought they wanted me back!'_ Seeing Naruto and Sakura conversing so comfortably with Sai in comparison to how awkwardly they had talked to Sasuke hit him harder than he would have ever thought possible. Every time that Sasuke looked at Sai's pale, damnedly smiling face he felt jealousy rear its ugly head and let out a roar.

Eventually, Sai and Naruto left, the blonde boy giving a hasty good-bye. Sakura and Sasuke remained alone in the room.

Sakura looked at Sasuke uneasily. Her teammate was staring at the door with a blank face, but she could sense his anger. It wasn't the anger that Sasuke had always projected when Naruto was bothering him. It was something much worse, and it unsettled her. This Sasuke was like a stranger. Oh, he was more handsome than ever, with just the right amount of muscle, a clearly defined jawline and impossibly smooth skin. However, there was something surrounding Sasuke now. His eyes burned with a deep-seated hatred, a hatred that should have been appeased by the unveiling of Itachi's true purpose. But that hatred was redirected instead of destroyed. Every time Sakura looked at Sasuke, her eyes no longer saw his angelic face. What she saw sitting upright in that hospital bed frightened her.

"Well... Goodnight, Sasuke-kun. I hope you feel better tomorrow." Sakura got up from her stool and exited, footsteps quick and hurried. Sasuke didn't notice her leaving. His mind still saw the tiny smile of an extremely pale, black-haired boy.

* * *

A small group of ninja dashed through the trees, feet barely hitting the wood before leaving it again.

"This is so outstandingly amazing, I bet even Naruto couldn't _believe it!_" Rock Lee shouted about the noise of the wind. Sakura could not help a small giggle at the pun, glad that Lee couldn't hear her laugh. "Me, Konoha's Young Wild Green Beast, on the same team as Sakura-san! Isn't that awesome?"

"Hell no!" Sakura shouted in return, but the retort lacked any conviction, and Lee just laughed gaily, voice carrying back her way on the wind. _'He's so different from Sasuke...'_ Sakura reflected. _'Brighter and happier than even Naruto. It's a good thing I'm on Lee's team instead of Sasuke's- I think I needed a break.'_ A little smile appeared on her face, and she ducked her head, hoping nobody else would notice it. The green-suited boy was a little bit freaky-looking, but he had the power to cheer anybody up. He had the power to make anyone feel comfortable around him immediately, unlike Sasuke, who had the power to make someone fear him immediately.

"Roma's Meadow coming up. Watch out for the gorge- they're going to strike from there." A strict, official voice warned. The jonin leading their squad was none other than Hinata's father, Hiashi. Moments later, the trees ended and they jumped down into the beginning of an expanse of heather, yellow grasses, and pale moss. Cutting the meadow in half lengthwise was a narrow gorge, with sheer stony cliffs. The distant roar of a river could be heard.

"Disperse." Hiashi ordered. "They're coming."

There was a faint _whooshing_ noise, and thirteen yellow flying machines shot up out of the gorge, maneuvering past the cliff walls with pure skill. The squad scattered like mice underneath the gaze of a predatory hawk. Rock Lee followed after Sakura, face set.

"Sakura-san!" he called. "Can I get a lift, please?"

Sakura nodded in understanding, grabbing Lee's feet as he jumped and swinging him around. Utilizing the strength that she had gained from two years of training under Tsunade, Sakura hurled Lee into the air. The boy shot up like a cannon, twirling around to hit one machine with his foot with all the force of a hurricane. Using the now-destroyed craft as a foothold, he leaped and landed on the next one, bringing down the whole of his left left upon it with full power. The first craft he destroyed spiraled to the ground, quickly being taken care of by his teammates. The shinobi manning the crafts leaped out and engaged his comrades in hand-to-hand combat, but were easily defeated. Hiashi in particular held no mercy, taking out his enemies with ease.

Rolling in midair, Lee dodged a barrage of kunai. He jumped on top of the offending opponent, preparing a fist to punch the back of it and knock it out of the sky. It veered sharply to the right and dipped down low then high again, but stubbornly Lee hung on. The chunin managed to grab ahold of it in preparation to tear the wings off, and it was lucky that he did, because just then the ninja controlling the machine executed a loop-de-loop and flew upside down. Caught by surprise, Lee dangled from the machine, getting a good view of the battle below. Everything appeared to be going well, except...

Sakura was being slowly drawn away from the main group. She noticed her proximity to the edge of the gorge and made haste to leap away, but stepped right into a circle of fallen kunai, each one bearing on the end of it a paper tag. Rock Lee glance up and through the bars of the machine saw his opponent bring two hands together in a seal. The realization hit him hard, and he gasped. The machine jerked sideways, and then he was falling, falling. Rock Lee landed on the ground, rolling to a stop and shooting to his feet.

"Sakura-san!" he yelled, panicked. Sakura turned around in confusion, to be hit head-on as Lee barged into her. They both were thrown into the ground, and she struggled as Lee wrapped his arms around her.

"What are you doing, bushy brows?" she spat. "Get of-"

A moment later, the world around them exploded. Grass clumps flew into the air, lit on fire and then burning out. Smoke billowed everywhere, reaching with hungry dark tendrils to spoil the clean autumnal air.

Sakura coughed, trying to catch her breath. She felt like she had been compressed, cooked in an oven for an hour, and then tossed out again from a high building, and yet strangely light at the same time. Then she realized that Lee was no longer on top of her.

"Lee?" she cried, hating how hoarse her voice sounded. "Lee-kun?"

There was no response. Sakura scrambled to her feet, then almost fell down again as a wave of nausea washed over her. Her bubblegum-pink hair now was the colour of a piece of bubblegum that had been left on the sidewalk and trodden on. Stumbling, she turned around, trying vainly to see through the thick smoke.

A cough. The kunoichi whirled around, and saw a figure lying several metres away, a green and orange and black and _'Oh, god no, red..._' Striding as fast as she could, Sakura dropped down by Lee's side. Her green eyes became wider and wider as they roved over Lee's body, judging the extent of his injuries. It looked almost as if his whole left side had been hit. Starting from the left shoulder and running down to his hip extending partway across his stomach, all of his skin was gone, the muscles torn. Swallowing nausea completely unrelated to her own dizziness, Sakura placed two hands gently on his side, a soft green glow of chakra appearing in the area.

Lee's huge, puppet-like eyes opened halfway and he looked up at her.

"You're safe, Sakura-san..." he whispered quietly, and Sakura looked up from her healing. He was smiling. "I'm... glad..."

"_Glad?_" Sakura growled, but couldn't keep her angry tone as she met Lee's dim eyes. "How can you be glad? You're so badly injured... because of me..." her voice trembled, and unbidden a tear splashed into the small pool of blood forming underneath Lee.

"Don't be sad..." Lee's eyes were distant. "I was protecting the one I loved. Sakura-san... I know that I will never have a chance now... now that Sasuke's back. Leave me... it's better to die now with you by my side, than die sad and alone later..."

Sakura shook her head furiously, tears flying as she blinked rapidly. "Lee, I'll _never_ let you go and die under my care. I'm not going to let you- I'm not going to let the one that _I _love die!" Upon hearing this, Lee's eyes widened and his breath caught in his throat. "I never loved Sasuke... he's just not you, Lee. He's scary, and intimidating. You're kind and always full of joy. You can make anyone feel happy just by looking at them. _That's _what I love, and don't even think of giving up on me now!"

"Sakura..." Lee murmured. She was crying freely now, finally able to have sorted out her conflicting feelings. He let his smile grow wider, and reached u with one shaking hand to brush her cheek before letting it fall. "I'll never leave you." There would be time later for the both of them to talk, so much time that it filled him with joy just thinking about it. For them, there would be years and years and years... Rock Lee closed his eyes. For now, he was content just being at her side.

* * *

The happy shrieks of children at play rent the air. Konoha had been well-reinforced, and 24-hour watches kept on the sky as well as the ground. It was sunset now, the sinking sun casting long shadows and orange light upon one of the few undamaged playgrounds of the village. Three kids were playing tag, chasing each other up the slide and then down it again, while a small girl with bright orange hair was being pushed on the swings by a tall blonde man wearing thick brown gloves.

"High, higher!" The girl insisted.

Deidara's grin widened, and he bent his knees slightly. "Are you sure, Kagura-chan?" he cautioned. "Go any higher, and you'll fall off, mm!"

"No, I won't!" Kagura retorted. Shrugging, Deidara drew back, and then as she came his way again, he placed his hands against her small back and pushed harder than before. He didn't utilize his full strength, as that would have sent the little girl flying, but he certainly used a bit of it. The girl let out an exclamation of delight as she soared through the air. Her pigtails streamed backwards, the ends of the ribbons that tied each one fluttering madly. Kagura's dark blue eyes were wide with excitement.

"Cool?" Deidara asked.

"So COooL!" Her voice reverberated oddly as she swung down then back up again. "I'M GoIng tO juMp!"

Alarmed, the man darted forwards, just as Kagura let go. For a moment, she hung suspended in air, then she was safe in Deidara's arms, being lowered to the ground laughing.

"You little-" Deidara bit off his sentence quickly. "I almost didn't catch you there!"

"Kagura! Ren! Tsuna! Pachi!" An older-sounding voice called. Standing at the entrance to the playground was a woman of about fourty. Her hair had a little bit of grey in it, but the rest was the same fiery orange as Kagura's. "Pachi and Tsuna, you're sleeping over at our house tonight, so come with us!"

"I have to go..." Kagura said, running to her mother. She interlocked her right hand with that of her mother's, waving a good bye. "Bye, Dei-chan!"

The man waved back until they were out of sight. As soon as the children had gone, he heaved a sigh and sat heavily down on the end of the miniature seesaw, putting his head in his hands. _'What a day...'_ he thought. _'Spent a whole blasted day playing with little _kids_, for kami's sake. They're really loud, and annoying, but...'_ Deidara paused. _'Alright, I don't mind them all that much.'_ he admitted to himself. _'A lot of people are horrible, shabby works of art. But kids are the clay itself, ready to be moulded into something that could be beautiful.'_

"Had fun?" A young voice asked, and Deidara felt his end of the seesaw rise halfway as someone else sat on the other end. He lifted his head, and saw a tanned face with a scar across the nose smiling at him. The man was about his age- twenty, maybe a year older. Yet his eyes were trusting and innocent, as if they hadn't seen very many battles.

"And you are?" Deidara asked cautiously. The man stretched out a hand, and after a moment's hesitation Deidara leaned over and shook it before settling back into his seat.

"Umino Iruka. I was Naruto's old teacher and used to work at the Academy before I had an... accident... But anyways, it was good of you to play with those kids. They were in my class, you know, and were pretty depressed when I had to quit."

"It wasn't a problem, mm." Deidara found himself saying. _'Who is this guy?'_ "I liked spending time with them. And you said you had to quit? By any chance, did you have to quit due to a damaged chakra network?"

Iruka stiffened. "How did you know?" he asked casually. "You know the guy in the Akatsuki who did this to me?"

Deidara nodded. Despite himself, he felt sorry for the brown-haired ex-teacher. It was strange, seeing someone else whose life had been turned upside down by Raidan. "I knew him too fucking well, mm! After a year spent with Raidan in the Akatsuki he tried to kill me, along with Sai. Course I'd know him."

"Speaking of which, where is Sai?" Iruka questioned. He didn't know why, but hearing Deidara insult this Raidan gave him a feeling of relief. He had taken a gamble, going out to meet Konoha's newest chunin, and it looked like it had paid off.

"Already on his mission." Deidara told him. "He left yesterday, while I'm going to be assigned to a team tomorrow. Are you fighting?"

"Can't. Still in training with Might Gai." Iruka yawned, stretched and got up. The seesaw sank back down. "Send my regards to Sai if you see him, all right? And good luck."

It was quite dark by now. The stars and moon were hidden by a veil of clouds, thin but encompassing the whole night sky. Deidara reached up and brushed aside his bangs, switching on his scope. After several long days, he finally had rebuilt and perfected it to allow him to see better in the dark as well as repel most genjutsu.

"Training with Might Gai?" Deidara muttered, and raised his voice. "Nah, it's not me who needs the luck, it's you."

* * *

I have to say, I love Rock Lee and Sakura. I feel like their relationship in the manga/anime is a bit similar to Hinata and Naruto's, except with Lee being the one who has the unrequited love and doing all that he can for Sakura, while Sakura is the one being mean. You have to hate Kishimoto sometimes...

Deidara's an official member of Konoha now =) I had the Naruto song "Shōri" playing writing that. I hope your ready for some action, because the next chapter will be full of it. It'll be a difficult chapter too, so while this chapter was posted relatively quickly, the next one will take much longer.

Agh... and now I have to clean the keyboard. I might have permanently damaged it writing how Sasuke looked to Sakura.


	24. Bonds of Trust: Part Six

**Bonds of Trust: Part Six:**

**The Shame of the Uchiha**

* * *

"Two hundred twenty three... two hundred twenty four... two hundred twenty five..." Iruka said each glaringly large number easily with each bend of his elbows. He was upside down, feet balanced perfectly in the air and hands spread wide on the ground to support his full weight. His fingers gripped the frost-dusted grass, occasionally trembling when his centre of balance became disrupted. Gai had put orange weights around his ankles- not quite as heavy as his own or Lee's, but still formidable enough. The Wild Green Beast of Konoha himself stood a little ways off, watching Iruka train with his arms crossed and a huge grin on his face.

"Is that a waver I see?" he shouted. "One hundred more!"

Sweat began to bead Iruka's face and he groaned. Up to two hundred and thirty, he was okay, but another hundred would pose a challenge. It didn't make him feel any better knowing that Rock Lee, a good four years younger than him, could do twice as much with hardly any effort. Iruka conveniently overlooked the fact that most other shinobi barely managed a hundred, much less the two hun- no, he was up to three hundred now- that Iruka was doing.

"Yosh, you're done for the day!" Gai strode up to him. "Good work today, Iruka! Lee has indeed kept you in shape! Starting today, you are allowed to go and fight. You are a student that any teacher would be proud of!"

"Thanks... Gai." Iruka panted, wiping the sweat off of his face. The crisp, fresh dawn air felt good on his face. His hands were cold from being on the frosty ground for so long, so he put them in his pockets, and turned to face the sun. They had gotten up earlier than the sun that morning, so as a reward they got to see it rise in all its glory.

"You know, I used to curse my life." Iruka said conversationally once he had caught his breath. "I hated being so crippled, so useless. I thought it was the end of the line for me- that taijutsu training would bring me nowhere. The work was hard, and it hurt- it hurt a lot. I despised my new disability. But you know what, Gai?" Iruka turned to his surrogate teacher, a huge smile upon his face. The black-haired man was instantly reminded of Naruto- only Naruto ever smiled so brightly as that. Perhaps he had rubbed off on Iruka. "I don't mind it now! Actually, it's a gift. Thanks to my disability, I've been working harder than I ever have, and I think I'm actually stronger than I was before."

The hyperactive jonin chuckled, even as tears formed in his eyes. "Those were extremely touching words, Iruka! You are absolutely right, and I will remember them forever."

"Forever's a little too long." Iruka laughed. "I wish Rock Lee was here so I could give him my thanks as well, but you shall have to pass them on to him, as well as receive some of your own from me. Do you mind if I come back when we all have some free time and train with Lee and you again?"

"Anytime, Iruka, and that's a promise!" Gai flashed him a sparkling grin and a thumbs up.

* * *

A large, inky blank and papery white dove flew swiftly through the puffy white cloud, its three passengers clinging onto its slightly feathery back.

Little wisps of cloud flew into the three boy's faces: Two jonin, one genin, all of them outfitted in green flak jackets. Kunai hung at their belts, pockets filled with all sorts of shinobi tools like smoke bombs, exploding tags and summoning scrolls.

"Neji, do you see anything?" Sai asked from where he crouched at the ink bird's head. He had taken off his eyepatch for the duration of the mission, finding the foreign snake eye's 'heat' ability to be extremely useful in the cold cloudy air. The Hyūga boy was peering at the ground, searching for the hidden bases of the sora-nin.

"Not yet." Neji reported, and Sai nodded. In the middle, arms folded and eyes closed, sat Sasuke. His face was calm and relaxed, almost as if he were meditating. After another few minutes of thought, the corner of his mouth twitched, but he swiftly mastered the impulse and resumed a nonchalant expression.

_'The Third... Konoha... Why did they have to do such a thing to Itachi? He was their greatest shinobi, following orders that he knew would destroy his life and so many others. What kind of a Hokage would order him to do something like that? Was there no other option? Itachi was truly one of the kindest souls in existence... how could they force him to destroy his clan and reputation? They could have taken care of the problem themselves!'_

"Are you all right, Sasuke-kun?" Sasuke gave a start, and saw that Sai was looking at him, smiling that fake smile.

"Just thinking." Sasuke forced himself to say. "About the war. It's my first."

"It is mine as well." Neji interjected. "Consider it as a string of battles, and it might seem a little less intimidating." Sasuke glanced at Neji with impenetrable dark eyes, and for the briefest of moments the Hyūga wished he had never spoken. Then the darkness lifted, and Sasuke nodded in thanks.

"Thanks, it does help."

Neji looked back at the ground, more to avoid Sasuke's gaze than anything else. _'What _was_ that...?'_ he thought uneasily. _'For a moment, I detected a strong killing intent before it was veiled. Not directed at me, though. But feeling it was enough.' _

* * *

Deidara sat cross-legged in stony silence, a scowl etched onto his face. Sitting at the tail-end of his clay bird was a brown-haired man of about fourty, his bandana covering his hair and a short, thin beard reaching up around his mouth, ending in two points. He refrained from scowling, but resolutely avoided looking in Deidara's direction.

"Deidara!" Naruto cheered. "We're a team? Sweet!"

The blonde man visibly brightened as soon as he saw the Jinchuuriki, but quickly hid it as he leapt to his feet. "Naruto, my man! Cmon, I was getting bored. I could have made a C3 in the time I was waiting, mm!"

"Man, you're impatient." Naruto groused as he clambered onto the dove. "Who's our third team member? I don't know this guy."

"This _guy,_" the man snapped, standing up, "Is Mimura Hamiki, a _jonin_ of Konohagakure. However, he prefers to be addressed as Mimurai-taicho by his subordinates. He also does not appreciate being paired with a demon fox and a criminal, and wants to be dropped off at the west lakes before he kills himself from annoyance."

Naruto simply laughed the insult off, rubbing his wind-blown hair with the faintest hint of nervousness. He was used to insults, although it was true that they had decreased to almost none since he had saved the Leaf Village. "Nice to meet you, Mimura-taicho, but what's with the third-person talk?"

Deidara, however, wasn't nearly as self-controlled as Naruto.

"Hey, who do you think you're calling a demon fox? Naruto practically saved your sorry ass, alright? So don't even start anything!"

"Someone like you shouldn't talk." The man said disdainfully. "You should have never come here with that traitor-kid."

"Sai? _Traitor_?" Deidara couldn't believe his ears. Striding forward, he grabbed ahold of the jonin's collar and brought him close to his face to make his point known. "Do you know what he _did_ for this sorry village, mm? Do you know everything that's he's gone through?"

Mimura's eyes were cold. "Watch it, kid. You may be Tsunade's golden boy now, but Mimura knows you for who you really are, so don't get any ideas."

"Funny." Deidara ground out, trying to control his temper but failing. "I thought that Hokages were generally supposed to be more skilled than regular shinobi at things like judging."

"Um... Deidara? Maybe you should let him go now." Naruto suggested helpfully. Still seething, Deidara relinquished his grip on the captain's shirt and whirled around in a huff.

"The west lakes are right below us, mm." he said curtly. "You said you wanted to leave as quick as possible, Mimura-_taicho_? Then jump off." Despite his insult, the bird began spiraling downwards. As soon as it was a safe distance off of the ground, Mimura jumped off.

"Hold on, sir!" Naruto ran after him. "You forgot your communicator!"

Mimura took the device, stuffing it in one of his flak jacket pockets. "You're still a genin, aren't you, kid?" he asked suddenly. Naruto looked down at the ground.

"Yeah..." he muttered, scuffling his feet. "I just haven't had the time to take the exams again."

"You'd definitely pass if you did." With a short nod, the bearded man ran to join the small group of shinobi waiting for him.

Deidara harrumphed. _'Now, why can't I get that much respect?'_ However, he spotted a familiar scarred face, and could not resist calling out. "Hey, Iruka! You're fightin-" He paused, glancing up, only to see a wide beam of yellow light shooting down from the sky.

"Scatter!" Mimura howled, already in motion.

_Boom._ A massive explosion tore through the ground they were standing upon, causing the waves lapping at the lakeshore to evaporate and the ground to scorch and crumble. The shinobi present barely managed to save themselves by leaping to the side. Deidara painfully got to his feet and shook his head, trying to stop his ears from ringing.

"Aw..." he muttered in disappointment, looking at his sandals. The bases were burnt out, showing the soles of his feet. Quickly he took off the now-useless sandals and threw them aside. "They ruined my shoes, mm."

"What _was_ that?" Naruto gasped, scrambling to his feet. The dust cloud was still present, so Deidara flicked on his scope. Circling above them was an extra large flying machine, manned by four sora-nin. Coming on ground level, however, were five sora-nin, outfitted in an odd sort of armour.

"One of the enemy's new toys." he said, awed. "That was some hell of an art display... a bright, fleeting beam of yellow chakra focused from those shinobi above, then what an end to it! Not as well-shaped as my creations, but aesthetically pleasing all the same, mm. And- oh, right. You take care of these guys, Naruto, I'll work on getting to the guy above."

"Right." Naruto nodded determinedly. "Hey, Iruka-sensei! Need a hand?"

His former teacher was battling it out with an extremely tall shinobi, each of them showing an impressive display of hand-to-hand combat.

"Good to see you again... Naruto." Iruka panted. "But you help the others... I'm fine... oof!" Naruto had to restrain himself from rushing to his sensei's aid when the tall shinobi landed a kick on the side of Iruka's head, sending him crashing to the ground. The chunin was up in a second, retaliating with an undercut. Giving a terse nod, Naruto ran to aid the two other shinobi in the squad.

"Another taijutsu expert, eh?" Iruka's opponent seemed amused. "Yet your proficiency with it combined with your young age suggests to me that you're trying to compensate for something. How are you going to fight me if I suddenly switch tactics?" He disengaged, jumping away from Iruka, forming hand seals as he went. Iruka watched his hands carefully. He didn't have the Sharingan, but Kakashi had worked together one week with Lee to give him extensive training in reading seals. Knowing the type of attack an instant before it was said would give him, a taijustu-only user, a big advantage. Plus, his opponent wasn't even close to Kakashi's level when it came to executing hand seals quickly and effortlessly. "Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu!"

The man put his hand to his mouth and blew out many disks of fire; all of them were heading in Iruka's general direction but moving erratically, as if unsure whether to fly upside down, go a little bit to the right, or maybe inch to the left. The chunin was prepared for this, and twirled around, dodging the first and then the second with ease. However, as the third shot by him, he felt a sudden stab of pain. Faltering, Iruka glanced at his shoulder, and saw that a shuriken was cutting into his arm, stopped only from going deeper by the edge of the flack jacket. The fourth and fifth fire disks came his way, and this time he saw it but was unable to avoid it: two more shuriken shot out from under the cover of the fire and hit him respectively through his left side and on his right forearm.

_'I see.' _Mentally, he berated himself for being so foolish. _'He used the fire as a distraction, hiding the true attack in the shadow of the feint.'_

The sora-nin snorted with laughter at Iruka's serious expression, and then glanced up at the sky. His brow furrowed and he turned back to face Iruka, looking deadly serious himself.

"I've run out of time to play with you." he announced. "My partners are almost done preparing their next blast, which means that I have to finish you off quick or immobilize you somehow to get you caught in it."

Iruka saw him place his hands to his mouth again and, thinking it was going to be his fire technique of before, dashed forwards. _'For you, the safest place is closest to an opponent.'_ _Gai instructed. 'That way, they'll be forced to avoid any large-scale techniques that can harm themselves as well as you.'_ "Got you!" Iruka cried trumphiantly, leg extended in a kick that would have snapped the man's neck. However, just as he came close, his opponent inhaled and then blew out a whirlwind of air, blowing Iruka several metres back. The chunin hit the ground and rolled to a stop, but now the air was intermixed with flames, surrounding him in a vortex of fire.

Heat buffeted him on all sides. Iruka's eyes watered and he blinked furiously, looking vainly for any gaps.

"Think you can bust out of that one, Konoha kid? Think you can move faster than the wind?" The voice was indistinct, made hard to hear over the howling of the fire tornado.

Panic began to creep into Iruka, and he forced himself to relax. The idea forming in his mind was almost as terrifying as the fire itself. _'Should I do it? I- I can't, no... it's too much..._ _remember what Lee taught you, that it should only be used if you're protecting your friends, village, or nindo.' _Iruka froze. He _was_ protecting his friends and his village. Despite this, his hands still shook. What if it didn't work? What if he overreached himself, and ended up back in the hospital, or worse, dead? It was more than just possible.

Iruka took a deep breath. It was now or never. The flames were getting unbearably hot, and he still remembered the warning about the laser firing again. Crossing his arms in preparation, he steadied his feet and bent his head with concentration. _'First Gate, release!'_

Suddenly, his muscles felt re-energized and bursting with power. The pain from his wounds and his exhaustion disappeared. Iruka executed a handstand and then bent his elbows, lowering himself down low. His legs swung around in a circle, going faster and faster. The reaching arms of fire around him recoiled slightly, but kept going. _'Not fast enough!'_ Iruka thought desperately. He reached deeper within himself, memory winging back to days spent working himself into the ground with Lee. _'Second Gate, open!'_His spinning dramatically increased in speed. The speed of his wind generating from his spinning was so great that it completely stopped the opposing wind, putting out the fire.

Iruka launched himself into the air. He saw his opponent's shocked face for the merest moment before making contact, hitting him full-on with an outstretched leg. Then he was shooting up again, using his momentum to punch the sora-nin in the stomach, sending him flying.

A piercing, burning flash of pain. Iruka winced, one hand going to his heart. Not good enough. He felt the effects of the Second Gate rapidly receding, and his enemy was still standing. A wave of fire came his way, and Iruka dropped down to the ground. Sweat ran down his face, more from exertion than his anxiety. Straightening, he recrossed his arms. His opponent gaped as the air around Iruka wavered as from a heat wave- or extreme energy. Blue tendrils of chakra snaked out from his body, and the chunin's already tanned face grew darker, his eyes becoming blank and terrifying. Dodging the deadly slices of wind hurled his way, Iruka slammed into the tall man, kicking him upwards.

Naruto, forgetting completely about the unconscious man that he had just performed a Rasengan on, stared in awe as his teacher brought down his sora-nin, slamming him into the ground so hard that the attack created a crater.

"Yosh!" Naruto cheered. "Go, Iruka-sensei!"

"Naruto..." Iruka muttered. His face was covered in soot and scratches, but he managed to give his former student a thumbs-up before collapsing.

Mimura saw Iruka fall and quietly cursed. _'One of us down, and we still have to deal with that danged flying machine... Mimura cannot fly, none of us can, except for that blasted Akatsuki... And we can't trust our lives to him, no, not when that laser is ready to fire and can easily blast anyone out of the sky!'_

"Mimura, I'm goi-"

"Mimura-taicho!" The man screeched. Deidara ignored him as he continued to mold a clay bird. His blue eyes were fixed on the machine hovering above them.

"I'm going to go for it. Are you coming with me? It'll be easier taking it out with a partner, mm."

"Are you kidding?" Mimura retorted. "We'll be blasted out of the sky! Better that we retreat now, and as quickly as possible!"

Deidara shrugged. He tossed his bird into the air and jumped onto it as it became larger. "Suit yourself."

"Oi, you don't really... hey! You couldn't have been serious about going after it!" Mimura shouted disbelievingly after Deidara, who gave no sign of having heard him. Naruto ran up, and the jonin pointed at the impulsive blonde. "He's going to get blown up, the idiot!"

"Deidara!" Naruto yelled. "What the hell are you doing? Get out of there!"

Deidara spared his team half a glance. _'Hmph...'_ he thought contemptuously. _'Do they really have that little faith in my art? I would have thought that at least Naruto, who's seen it before, would know that I'm not gonna die here.'_

The sky shinobi had spotted him, and swiftly reverted their target onto the new and very close by threat. Deidara almost managed to leap onto their machine before a second beam of glowing yellow chakra burst out of the single cannon.

Naruto cried out in alarm, a cry that went unheard from the explosion above their heads. However, it wasn't just Deidara who vanished- his bird and the machine itself were caught up in this explosion, all three being completely destroyed in a matter of seconds. Little pieces of metal rained down, and a few scraps of a black and red cloak.

"He...sacrificed himself for us." Mimura seemed to be in shock. His wide grey eyes stared unseeingly ahead, seeing only the face of the bomber that had just di-

"Died?" Someone said grumpily. Naruto and Mimura whirled around in unison, mouths forming perfect O's. Deidara's head popped out of the ground, the rest of his body following. He brushed bits of dirt off of his clothes and grinned widely. "Sorry, but I'm not the martyr type, mm. Those bastards got more than they asked for when they blew up my suicide bomber clone. And wipe that look off of your face, _taicho_. It's just my job to fight for my village." Deidara added loftily.

The older man's face coloured, but no words of anger came out. Instead, he bowed down low from the waist.

"Mimura's deepest apologies, err- sir!"

Surprised by this sudden act of repentance, Deidara searched for words. "It's Deidara." He said at last. "It's no problem, mm."

* * *

The blue skies gradually darkened into yellow, then orange, then red, and finally into the deepest black. Accompanying the change in lighting was the change in sound- from the chattering of squirrels fighting over the last acorns and sleepy robins settling into their nests, to the sparse hooting of owls and the occasional cricket drugged by the cold weather, rubbing out its chirps much slower than usual.

Sasuke watched Sai out of the corner of his eye the whole time they set up camp. If the older boy noticed his scrutiny, he made no comment about it.

_'Sasuke's been acting strange...'_ Sai thought. _'His manner's changed than from when I met him again in the hospital. It's like a switch was turned off; he shows no animosity towards me, but no outright friendliness either.'_ Any normal person would have been unsettled, but Sai didn't jump to conclusions. His training from the Foundation had taught him to go calmly along with situations until he could turn them to his advantage. The best thing he could do right now in respect to the Uchiha was wait for him to make the first move- a glare or a harsh word, either would do quite well. He adjusted his sleeping mat and lay down on it, turning onto his side.

"Hold on Sai, there's a big beetle..." Sasuke scooted over to Sai and reached over him. Sai tensed from the close proximity of his teammate, and as his eyes opened he was suddenly confronted with a pair of red eyes instead of black ones. His world started to dim around him, and Sai stiffened, eyes widening in alarm before unconsciousness took hold. Sasuke blinked, deactivating his Sharingan and plucking the beetle off of Sai's ponytail before swiftly retreating.

Neji was looking at him oddly, and Sasuke forced a little chuckle. He carelessly tossed the bug to the side.

"Sorry, Neji, I couldn't go to sleep and keep imagining that beetle making a nest in Sai's hair..." _'Please, don't activate your Byakugan.'_ Sasuke prayed. He was taking a gamble- if Neji had the faintest inkling of what he had just done, the Byakugan would prove it. The boy was staring intently at Sai now, but the lack of the characteristic protruding veins around his eyes proved that he wasn't utilizing his clan's dōjutsu.

"It's all right." Neji said at last. He lay down on his sleeping mat, stretching and getting comfortable. "How about you take first watch? I'm rather tired. Wake me up at midnight, alright?" Sasuke nodded and chose a tree at the head of the campsite.

The firelight dimmed, reduced to little more than embers. The moon passed over the midnight mark and into the one-o-clock range. Neji's breathing had steadied down long ago into a slow, even rhythm.

Sasuke gradually got to his feet, dark eyes fixed on a huddled form at the base on a tree across from him. He caught a flash of gold, and saw that those eyes were open, however slightly. He paused, activating his Sharingan, and saw that the chakra network of the pale boy was still wild. Reassured, the Uchiha continued to creep forwards. Ever so slowly, his hand drifted toward the blade at his hip, and then he had drawn it out, holding it poised over Sai's body. His hands trembled ever so slightly, but then he saw before him Itachi's dead body, saw before him the epitome of the people that had sent his brother to his death and eternal shame.

Sasuke brought the blade down. There was a loud _clang,_ and a kunai clashed with his katana, thrusting it to the side and into the dirt. In the same motion, it swept up to rest at his throat. Sasuke looked up to meet the piercing lilac gaze of Neji Hyūga.

"I knew it..." he breathed. "I didn't want to arouse your suspicion back there, but had I known that you were actually trying to kill him instead of a harmless prank... I should have known better, actually. The Sasuke I know would never stoop to playing pranks, much less murder." Never taking his eyes off of Sasuke's face, but being careful to avoid directly looking into his eyes, Neji formed a one-handed seal. _"Release."_

Sai's eyes flickered open. "Neji-kun...?" He saw the blade just a few inches away from his face and sat up stiffly, trying to shake off the aftereffects. "So it's true, then." This was a statement, not a question. Sai got to his feet, reaching into his flak jacket and pulling out his ink scrolls in preparation for battle. "I thought you might not have truly come back to Konoha. Are you simply giving up on following Itachi's will?"

Sasuke's fists clenched. "I didn't picture coming back and finding my place taken." he replied. "I didn't expect to come back and find _that_waiting for me. And you say that I'm not following Itachi's will? No. Far from it. He wanted me to be happy here, in this godforsaken village, this village whose Hokage sentenced him to a life far worse than death. You're one of the primary obstacles that stand in my way, and as such, must be eliminated."

"And even then?" Sai asked quietly, his mismatched eyes serious. "If that is true, then you won't stop killing until the Hokage herself is dead."

A small, humourless smile appeared on Sasuke's face and left it just as quickly. "Perceptive, aren't you?" His hands moved in a blur, and Sai instinctively pulled Neji backwards with him, saving them both from being struck by a bolt of lightning that arced from the sword stuck in the ground.

* * *

Naruto flashed Deidara a grin. "Think I can hitch a ride?" he asked.

Deidara returned Naruto's grin with one of his own. "Hop on!" the man invited. "Deidara's dove express is ready for takeoff, mm! But be warned- the conclusion of the flight may be explosive!"

"Suits me, as long as we get off before that!" Naruto joked. His heart felt lighter than it had in days as the clay bird soared into the air. Here in the sky, at least, he could forget the problems that plagued him back down on earth. Here in the sky with the wind and a friend. "Say, Deidara, what do you think of Sasuke?"

"I hate him." Deidara said immediately. "No offense to you-"

"None taken." Naruto groaned.

"But I really do hate him. I've got a grudge against that damned inartistic Sharingan of his and his brother's, mm. Now that Itachi's dead, I long to just blow one thing up in front of Sasuke's face and show him what _true_ art is..."

"Any better reasons?" Naruto interrupted. Deidara harrumphed and looked off into the clouds, searching for words. The occasional cottonlike puffs in the starry night sky had begun clumping together, darkening to a shade of grey.

"Well, if I could forget about his inability to appreciate art, then I suppose we could avoid killing each other, except for one thing. I don't know how he used to be, Naruto. I don't have the memories that you do. But if you became friends with Sasuke when he was younger and nicer, then he's changed, mm. He may be on our side, but he still has an evil aura about him... full of hatred and jealousy. I don't like it. As long as he remains that way, I'll hate him."

"Jealousy?" Naruto sounded surprised. "Why?" Deidara rolled his eyes.

"Are you blind?" The second blonde said impatiently, waving a hand. "Don't you see how he looks at Sai whenever we all hang out together and you're talking about something that you and Sai and Sakura did as a team? He's jealous of his replacement, obviously, mm."

"B-but..." Naruto spluttered. "Sai's not on our team anymore. He's on yours."

"Doesn't mean that you guys aren't friends anymore. Sasuke knows that you feel more comfortable around Sai than him, a friend who betrayed your village and committed heinous acts before finally changing sides again. Sasuke's gotten so jealous at this point that I think he'd do anything to cease it, mm."

Naruto stared down at the bird's back, expression unreadable but mouth in a frown. Deidara's eyes softened slightly.

"Hm. Well, look, I'm sorry for being, uh... such an idiot and being so honest about it, mm. Erm... I know it's hard for you..." Deidara was spared an awkward apology as Naruto's head shot up, eyes wide and panicked.

"But then... if everything you say is true, then we gotta go back! Sasuke- he _volunteered_ to be on Sai's team!"

* * *

A new clearing had been created in the middle of the forest. Several fallen trees still smouldered near piles of burnt wood, the whole ensemble resting on blackened grass. Sai leaned heavily against a still-standing tree, gripping his right arm tightly. Sasuke had shown no mercy right from the start, attacking furiously with his lightning-charged katana. While exchanging blows, the blade had cut Sai's tantō in half, dealing him a deep cut. However, while the cut itself wasn't much of a problem, the energy had caused his entire arm to temporarily go numb. His eyes followed the battle going on before him with disturbing intensity. He had never seen Neji fight before, and was surprised by his level of skill; Sasuke seemed to be unable to land a single hit on him. Either that, or the traitor was just toying with him. However, Sai knew that it was a dangerous game Neji was playing, trying to get in palm strikes when facing against a long sword, and all just to protect Sai while he was recovering.

_'Is this what comrades do?'_ Sai wondered. _'Cover for each other? Help each other?' _Straightening, he gave his right arm an experimental shake and whipped out his scroll and brush.

"Neji!" he called. The Hyūga glanced his way and understood at once. He disengaged just in time for an ink tiger to hurl itself at Sasuke. However, instead of cutting it in half, Sasuke created a huge ball of fire. The flames were so hot, the tiger simply melted into a useless puddle of ink. Undaunted, Sai drew five more, some of which attacked immediately and others of which hung back, waiting for an opportune time to strike. Just as Sasuke spun to stab one tiger, Neji struck him in the back with a single palm. Sasuke stumbled forwards, recovering quickly and swinging around, something bright and crackling in his hands.

Sai's eyes widened, and his memory flashed back. _A sidestep. Grabbing the sword that would have killed Naruto. Dark, challenging eyes and a sudden crackling... _He darted forwards, crashing into Neji and sending them both flying to the side just as Sasuke brought his Chidori into the ground. Arcs of lightning shot up from the earth, defying all natural laws and racing towards them at terrifying speed.

_'Move!'_ Sai silently urged Neji, and was relieved when the other jonin leaped into the branches of the tree to avoid getting electrocuted. Sai opted to roll sideways and then dash forwards, forming hand seals as he went.

"Suiton: Mizu Kamikiri!"

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"

The ground right in front of Sai cracked, water shooting upwards from it in a daggerlike wave. Its roar was eclipsed by the explosion from Sasuke's second ball of fire. Seeing Sai nowhere in sight and a smoking crater where the boy had once stood, Sasuke momentarily relaxed, then ducked as Neji threw a series of exploding tags.

"Basic." Sasuke muttered. His red eyes darted from side to side, seeking out any human-shaped forms in the smoke. "Collaborating to make it seem like Sai's attack was the main one, but instead it served as a double distraction... Hyūga's giving him time to set up some sort of trap... Hn. Like I would fall for it."

Outside of the dirt cloud, Neji shifted all of his weight onto his toes in preparation to strike. _'He's turning, looking right, now at me, then left, and... now!'_ Pushing off, he shot into the dust cloud, striking Sasuke in the small of his back, making him spin around, then another strike to his jaw. _'Two strikes- that makes two. Another two- that makes four.' _Gradually, he increased the speed of his attack. _'Four to make eight, eight to make sixteen...'_ Sasuke attempted to counterattack, but was quickly knocked off balance and forced backwards. _'Sixteen strikes to make thirty two.'_ The palm strikes were as familiar to him as breathing by now. He had practiced this jutsu many times over, perfecting it and mastering it. _'Another thirty-two strikes- sixty-four.'_ With a final flourish, Neji slammed his left palm over Sasuke's heart, a strike that would have severely damaged the tenketsu present in that area. He tried to draw his arm back and found he couldn't.

With a movement too fast for even Neji's eyes, Sasuke's hand had shot up and gripped Neji's wrist.

Under the shadow of the trees, a patch of earth cracked, letting Sai jump through. He had done his part; now he looked toward the clearing, trying to see if it was time yet for him to act.

Heart pounding, Neji stared dumbly at the wild-haired boy for a second. Sasuke stared back, eyes becoming pure white. A crackling noise filled the air.

Sai focused on the dust cloud. It was still clearing, but the darkness of the night made it hard to see. Closing his left eye, he refocused and saw two people standing very close to one another. However, one of their heat signatures was fluctuating madly, breaking off in points. Confused, he advanced warily.

With a bright flash, Sasuke vanished in a blaze of lightning. The Hyūga yelled with pain as the energy raced through his body, stiffening his muscles and shutting down nerve responses to his limbs.

The wind was blowing harder now, completely dissipating the rest of the dust. Both of Sai's eyes widened as he saw a figure racing up behind Neji, pure energy in his right hand.

A white bird, far above but swiftly flying closer, burst out of the dark grey clouds and made an awkward landing on the broken earth, but even quicker than it was Sasuke. The boy lunged, Chidori first.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled.

Sasuke flinched, then the Chidori struck, piercing through Neji's chest, just barely missing his heart.

For a moment, there was only a painstaking silence. Sasuke stared at Naruto. Naruto, Deidara, Sa, and Neji stared at Sasuke. Then, with a sickening squelch, Sasuke tore his hand back out of Neji's chest and kicked him away. Sai dashed forwards and caught him before he could fall to the ground, retreating to kneel next to Deidara.

"Can you heal him?" Naruto asked, his voice hoarse. "Please, Sai, can you-"

"I'll try." Sai answered tersely, placing his hands over the gaping wound. Just as he did so, the first drops of rain began falling, escalating into a torrent of water from the skies. Deidara made a slight motion with his hand, and his clay bird shuffled toward them and extended a wing to shield Sai and Neji from the downpour. His blue eyes returned to the mesmerizing gaze of Sasuke's Sharingan, and unconsciously his fists clenched.

_'Those eyes..._' he thought angrily. _'Those same, damned eyes!'_

"Look," Deidara said, breaking the silence, "I don't know what kind of bonds you guys have in this village... hell, I barely know anything that goes on in leaf shinobi heads, mm. But that guy- wasn't he your _comrade?_ Didn't he _mean _anything to you? You fought together, went to school together; didn't-"

"Enough, Deidara." Naruto murmured quietly. "Sasuke... I should be thinking that you betrayed us, should be treating it as something entirely unexpected. But instead, I feel like I've been lying to myself this whole time since you came back... I feel like, deep down, I knew..." he paused, taking in one shuddering breath. He seemed almost upon the verge of breaking down. "Why?"

Sasuke's face was impassive. He stuck his hand out into the rain, letting the foreign blood wash off of it. The red liquid landed in large drops upon the ground, where it intermixed with clear water and soot to create a brackish mixture.

"I hate having to explain myself twice." he stated tonelessly. "I'm going to turn back time, in a way. I'll start off where it's easiest- killing my replacement on my team- and then work my way up, finally extracting repentance from the rulers for what they did to my brother and my clan. Should anyone get in my way..." A slightly hungry gleam appeared and disappeared in his eyes. "They can sing praises to me in hell together, for all that I'm going to do for this forsaken place."

Deidara sneered at him. "You sound heck of a lot like Pein, Sasuke. Kill everybody to make everything better, oh yeah, that's a good idea." He reached with one hand into his side pocket, preparing some clay. _'Can't use landmines here, since Naruto or Sai might step on them... in that case, I'll start off with some clones to give Naruto a chance to recover from the shock and join in, and hopefully buy some time for Sai to heal that guy.'_

"I'm don't want to do this, Sasuke." Naruto was saying. He sounded different now, far more serious. "But you attacked Neji with the intention of killing him. And that's one thing I can't forgive you for."

"You don't want to do this?" Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "But I do." He raised his still-active Chidori and pointed it at Naruto, who stood in readiness to dodge whatever was coming.

Deidara frowned at the sight. _'Something's fishy here...'_ As soon as his palm mouths were done preparing the clay, he rapidly created three oddly-shaped models. They were roughly humanoid, but with too-large upper bodies balanced precariously on spindly legs. They had ungainly arms as well, with big hands and rail-thin arms. A thick rope of clay connected them puppet-like to Deidara's fingers.

"Chidori Eisō!" Sasuke commanded, and the lightning he wielded suddenly shot out. Naruto tensed, but then the deadly shaft changed course, heading toward Sai. The pale boy was focused wholly on healing, ignorant of the speeding death going his way.

A flash of white. One of Deidara's clones jerked to the side and blocked the lightning, absorbing it and crumbling into a fine dust.

"I was under the impression that you prided yourself on your 'art'.' Sasuke said dryly. "Maybe you really are just an amateur."

Deidara's face, already pinked from the chill, turned an interesting shade of red. "It's called abstract art, Uchiha bastard!" he snarled. His fingers moved up and down, directing his odd clay figures. The man silently thanked Sasori for all the times that the puppet master had insisted on showing off his so-called eternal art to his stubborn partner.

Meanwhile, Naruto crouched down by Sai. The pale boy's breathing was ragged, and his eyes were half-lidded with exhaustion. The gaping, ugly tear in Neji's chest had been reduced to a thick and ropy scar. Letting out a long breath, Sai sat back on his heels and dispelled the healing jutsu.

"Are you all right?" Naruto asked in concern. Sai nodded breathlessly and looked up. At first, his gaze was uncomprehending, but then his eyes gradually widened with surprise, roving over the orange markings around Naruto's now yellow eyes.

"Naruto, you..."

"It's a new technique I learned from Pervy Sage." Naruto said, anticipating the question. He stood up, face serious. "I'm not going to knock some sense back into Sasuke with anything less than my full power. I'm not going to make the mistake of underestimating him ever again. Do you have enough chakra left to join in? That was a huge injury you had to heal."

Sai nodded in response, taking the proffered hand. He took out his scroll, and bared his arm. A little trickle of blood ran down from the cut he had received at the start of the fight, and in this Sai dipped his brush.

"Deidara and I will corner him." he began. "We need to draw Sasuke away from Neji so he doesn't accidentally get caught up in the fight. When we create an opening for you, make a double attack- do you get what I'm meaning?"

"I- oh, right." Realization dawned on Naruto's face and he nodded emphatically. "I got it. But your painting- doesn't that hurt?" Sai had finished his drawing and put it on the ground, hands forming a seal.

"It doesn't really hurt. It simply costs me more chakra than usual drawings do." Sai replied. "Now... Ninpou: Choju Giga!" Three deep red snakes slithered off the page and dropped one by one onto the wet earth, hissing slightly. Naruto flinched as one passed over his shoe, then the entire group slithered out into the rain toward Sasuke. Sai ran after them, drawing out several kunai with exploding tags attached. These he tossed slightly over Sasuke's head exploding behind him and forcing him to temporarily abandon his fight with Deidara's clay clones to acknowledge this new threat.

The Uchiha noticed Sai's snakes and extended his arms. Three thick, pasty white snakes crawled out from his sleeves, seemingly from nowhere and engaged Sai's. The reptilian creatures wound around each other, white against red, each hissing madly and biting each other's necks. Sasuke turned around again, using his lightning katana to neutralize the exploding clay bird that had formed from a clone's detached hand and flown toward his head.

_'He's underestimating my abilities...'_ Sai thought, but he was unable to feel any bitterness or contempt. _'Those aren't any ordinary snakes; I didn't just use red ink, as he seems to be thinking.'_ Sure enough, Sai's snakes withstood the poisonous bite of Sasuke's white ones and tore their opponents to pieces. They continued on their way, lashing out and wrapping around Sasuke's ankles. Seeing his chance, Deidara directed a figure to detach one of its arms, which became a horde of crickets. The insects hopped over to Sasuke before the boy could free himself and exploded in unison. A moment later, Sasuke leaped out of the cloud entirely unharmed except for a few scratches. He had just finished a series of hand seals, and blew out a stream of fire. These flames refused to be put out by the rain, and joined together, forming a vaguely dragon-like shape.

"Shit!" Deidara dived to the side, but the dragon pursued him, and he was just barely able to avoid getting killed by dropping down low and letting the unreal creature hit a stand of trees.

While Sasuke was still in the air from his monumentum, an orange-suited figure appeared behind him, holding a swirling ball of wind in its right hand. Sasuke whirled around to kick the attacker away, but he was too late; Naruto's Rasengan caught him head-on, sending him crashing into the ground hard enough to leave a small crater.

Sasuke lay winded, struggling to get up and catch his breath. His ribs felt like they were all bruised, if not a few broken. _'Naruto...' _he thought venomously. _'Looks like you've been training, to... But if that's the strongest attack you've got, then-'_ His senses began ringing alarm bells. Sasuke's head shot up, and he saw the real Naruto and a shadow clone bearing down on him with each holding what looked like huge, far more brilliant Rasengans in one hand. _'Before- that was a shadow clone?'_

There was no time to react. The two Narutos brought down their respective super sized Rasengan in an instant, creating a formidable explosion.

Sai leaned wearily against Deidara, both of them standing a safe distance away and watching anxiously. They both relaxed somewhat when a single Naruto backed out of the smoke and joined them. He was back in his normal form, eyes blue once more.

"Is he out?" Deidara asked. "That was some teamwork there, mm."

"I'm sure I got him. I felt the Rasengan connect." Naruto said firmly, but Sai shook his head.

"I don't know..." he sounded hesitant, and moved away from Deidara, peering closer to the scene of destruction. "Something feels wrong." The sky was getting a little bit lighter through the rainclouds, allowing them to see better. A dim purple glow appeared through the smoke, then as the rain washed it all away, the true form of it was revealed, and all three of them gasped.

What looked like a giant's ribcage was forming around Sasuke, though this one was translucent, surrounded by purple fire. Sasuke stood in the middle, an inane grin spreading uncontrollably across his sooty face. His flak jacket was torn in the middle from Naruto's first Rasengan, but he was nowhere near what he should have looked like if the two big Rasengans had hit.

"Looks like even the loser's gotten powerful. But what do you know? I have, too. I can't be hurt anymore- can't be touched at all." Sasuke chuckled, voice off pitch. Sai took a step backwards.

_'He's lost it.'_ he thought uneasily. _'He always was unstable since the death of his brother and the subsequent realization, but now...'_

Naruto, feeling hopeless, drew a small sword that he had taken with him as a last resort. "I'm out of natural energy for Sage Mode... shit, how can we win this?"

"Damnit, just as I thought we'd won!" Deidara cursed loudly. He jerked his hand to the side, and the clay ropes lying on the ground reformed, the figures they were attached to dragged to their feet and hurled at Sasuke. Joining in, Sai swiftly drew two bloody tigers, which followed after Deidara's figures. Sasuke simply laughed as they exploded harmlessly against the ethereal skeletal body that surrounded him.

"Looks like they got a weakling who wasn't nearly good enough to replace me." he taunted. "Well, let's see how fast he moves!" Shutting his right eye tightly, Sasuke focused his gaze through his left Sharigan. A flicker of pain crossed his face as blood welled up in the eye and rolled down his cheek. _"Amaterasu!"_

Black flames shot from him so fast they almost seemed to just appear. However, the threesome had already scattered. Sasuke followed them with his gaze. The deadly fire appeared right behind Deidara, who had just taken an extra long stride forward. Then they were trailing Naruto, who leapt onto a tree branch. The flames ran up the side of the tree, setting it ablaze before abruptly stopping in their advance. Sai saw and put on a burst of speed, predicting the strike before it came and twirling around. However, as he spun, the burst of dark fire caught onto the end of his airborne ponytail. Sai immediately felt the heat and continued his spin, keeping the fire away from the rest of his body. In the same motion, he reached up with a kunai and cut the portion of hair that was ablaze right off, letting it drop to the ground. Growling in frustration, Sasuke trained his eye on Sai again, meaning to aim at his neck, where there was no hope of avoiding the fire if it caught.

A sudden, blindingly powerful flare of pain. Sasuke's eye twitched and he placed one hand to it, dropping to his knees. More blood leaked out past his fingers, trailing down his arm. He felt a rush of air. The Susanoo was diminishing, bones shrinking and disappearing. Squeezing his eyes tight, he opened them again, only to find that everything appeared blurry.

"No..." he murmured. "No, not- not now!" An orange shape with a blonde head was approaching- Naruto. _'I can't let myself be captured. I can't. They'll interrogate me, imprison me; I'll never be trusted again. I won't humiliate myself like this. I won't live the rest of my life enshrouded in shame!'_ Slowly, unsteadily, he rose to his feet, blinking madly with wild eyes. Naruto was much closer now. Even with his worsening eyesight, Sasuke could see the glint of the sword in his hand, and in that moment made his decision. Summoning up the last of his strength, Sasuke sprang forwards. Naruto stood shocked for a second before instinctively raising the sword in self-defense. However, instead of dodging, Sasuke reached out and grabbed the blade with his hands, pulling it toward himself, bracing for the impact...

There was a muffled tearing noise. Naruto looked down at the blood splattered across his jumpsuit, blood that wasn't his.

When Sasuke looked up again, his Sharingan had disappeared, leaving behind two tired black eyes. Slowly, he raised his head and met Naruto's stunned gaze. The corners of his mouth twitched upwards, ever so faintly, then he was falling, hands leaving the short sword. There was a soft _thump_ as his body hit the ground.

"SASUKE!"

The anguished cry fell upon deaf ears. The dark-haired boy coughed thickly, a thin smile taking root. The pain had temporarily cleared his mind, cleared his eyes. Naruto was bending over him, pleading with him, saying words that he couldn't quite make out...

_'Good old Naruto.'_ Sasuke thought faintly. There was nothing he could do to justify his actions, and he knew it all too well. Not now, not ever. _'He always was persistent...' _For a brief second, his eyes flickered over to Sai. The pale boy was on his knees, but appeared to be alive, for the most part. That blonde man- Deidara? Was kneeling by him, staring at Sasuke with an emotion he couldn't quite identify. Shock, definitely, but a little bit of anger too, and some... regret? The man's face grew blurry, and Sasuke turned his head, looking past Naruto's despairing face and into the weeping heavens. _'Finally... I can apologize to Itachi...'_

* * *

Naruto sat alone on the hospital steps, head in his hands. It was a sunny day, but the wind was chilly enough to keep birds from staying out too long. As such, it was in complete silence that a silver-haired man walked up to the hospital and sat down next to Naruto. An orange book lay forgotten and forlorn beside the newcomer.

"The Sorakage is coming to establish peaceful relations with the Land of Fire." Kakashi said softly. "Tsunade said you might come and see how a Hokage deals with such things as peace treaties. She said it would be good practice for you."

"I'm not going." Naruto's voice was barely audible.

"Don't you want to become Hokage anymore?" Kakashi asked, but he had a feeling he knew the answer.

"What's the point of being Hokage..." Naruto raised his head and gazed into the distance, his eyes dull. "...if you can't protect those dear to you?"

"Sasuke made his own choice." Kakashi answered. He had thought over this for many hours, and now was ready to confront Naruto about it. "He was your friend, Naruto, and there are times when a Hokage can't do anything to stop their friends from deciding what they're going to do with their life."

Naruto was quiet for a long moment, then: "Did Sasuke really hate Sai that much? I... I never knew..."

Surprised by the question, Kakashi leaned back and considered it. "Remember, Naruto, that they both met each other in Orochimaru's hideout twice, and the second, longer time, Sasuke was an enemy. Anything could have happened in the snake's lair, so it should be no surprise that Sasuke harbored such strong feelings against Sai by the time he returned to Konoha and found his enemy taking up a spot he had secretly longed for, ever since his self imposed exile."

"I see." Naruto looked down at the ground once more, then stood up. "Are you coming with me? I'm going to go visit Neji."

"You do that for me." Kakashi replied. "Sai suffered scale two chakra exhaustion, so I need to check in with him and see if he's ready to start training again." The jonin looked on with just the barest trace of fondness visible in his single grey eye as Naruto sprinted up to the hospital door two steps at a time. Then he stuck one hand into his pocket, picked up _Icha Icha_, and slowly followed after him.

* * *

I have to apologize to all Sasuke fans... I don't know if any of you were hoping for him to suddenly turn into a good guy after that last chapter, but I feel like that would have made the story unbelievable. I mean, a fight between Sasuke and Sai was inevitable- and if Sasuke had a change of heart after such a fight, then it would be as bad as when Kishimoto had Sasuke decide to join Madara Uchiha. Alright, so here he still is bad- but at least he was more consistent, right?... Either way, I apologize again...

Also, it's an extremely long chapter- so sorry for that again, your eyes probably feel like Sasuke's right now. Believe me, I feel like mine do.


	25. Bonds of Trust: Part Seven

**Bonds of Trust: Part Seven:**

**Home is where the heart is**

* * *

The streets of Konohagakure were crowded with people enjoying a sunny November's day. They were wandering from shop to shop, looking at the gaudy displays and chattering among themselves. Standing in front of Yamanaka flower shop was a very pale tall boy, with black hair tied back in a roughly cut, short ponytail and an eyepatch over his right eye. He wore a plain black longsleeve and pants, but also a spring-green apron that was tied with a neat bow knot behind his back.

Leaves swirled around Sai's feet, and patiently he swept them up with his broom, adding them to a small pile. He kept one ear pricked, listening to the couple of customers browsing that day's selections. He heard a pair of younger girls cooing over a creatively made display of living crocuses intertwined with vines, the whole ensemble stemming from one rectangular pot.

"Excuse me sir, but did this store undergo renovation? That new sign, for instance. I've never seen it before, but it's amazing." Sai turned around to face an older lady with several streaks of silver in her chestnut brown hair.

"Thank you, madam." he replied politely. "I painted it over the course of several days and nights. I'm glad to see that my hard work has paid off."

"Painting such a beautiful sign at your age? You're quite the talented young man. I used to dabble in art myself, before I became a secretary." The woman smiled at him, and Sai smiled back. "I must be going. Would you tell the young lady working here that Ran-san said hello?"

"I will, and thank you again." Sai wove in between the tables that he had set up early that morning and headed inside, past the employees only gate. Putting his broom in a storage closet, he carefully untied his apron and hung it up on a well-worn hook. He stopped by the counter on his way out, where Ino was giving change to a small boy for buying a little bouquet of tulips. Ino's eyes briefly met his and she held up an index finger before returning to the kid. Sai leaned against the counter, waiting for her to finish. Once the boy had left, he stepped to take his place.

"Kenji Edogawa. His aunt often comes by." Ino explained. "Those were for his mother, who's in the hospital with cancer. Kids today are so sweet, don't you think?"

Sai shrugged. "I'm not that great with kids." he admitted sheepishly. "We get along best only if I don't lead the conversation. Oh yes, and a woman- she called herself Ran- stopped by and sent her greetings to you."

"You'll get to know all my regulars eventually. For now, you've earned your break." Leaning over the counter, Ino gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Sai's pale face tinted pink and he awkwardly waved a good-bye, turning around and exiting the flower shop. He decided not to hurry; where did he have to go? Naruto and Hinata had gone on an outing with Sakura and Rock Lee to a movie. They had invited Ino and him to come along, but the both of them had committed to working at the Yamanaka's that day. Now that his shift was done, Sai was content with just pulling a Shikamaru and taking a lazy stroll around the village. He looked up, seeing the distant roof of the Academy rising in the distance.

_'I wonder how Deidara's doing.'_ Sai wondered offhandedly. Since he was living with Ino every other week, Sai hadn't seen him since yesterday, when Deidara was rushing to get to the school and barely had time for a hello.

A chill wind blew past, ruffling his dark hair. Sai shivered and did up the last button on his jacket. The sunshine seemed colder all of a sudden, and dimmer.

Sai stopped dead in the middle of the street, making several people bump into him. The boy hardly took notice of their muttered curses, staring straight ahead, gaze darting around. Nervously, Sai swallowed. _'This chakra...' _he thought. _'I've felt it before... but how? He can't be here; I shouldn't be able to sense him in the first place. Does this mean he's controlling me again? No. He can't have. He needs direct physical contact to initiate that jutsu, and I haven't seen him since that day on the hill... or have I?'_ The back of his neck prickled, and he continued walking, very slowly, forcing himself to appear relaxed as the mystery person got closer and closer. Finally, when they were almost right behind him, Sai whirled around.

"Whoa!" A man cried in surprise. Sai blinked in confusion and straightened from fighting position. Two indignant, cloudy blue eyes behind a small pair of glasses stared back at him. He had almost attacked a dark-haired man of about thirty. The man appeared to be a civilian, carrying a bag of groceries and dressed in a sweater and jeans. On habit, Sai stole a glance at his boots, then his hands. Both were well-worn; the boots looked like they had seen many miles and the hands looked as if they had seen many jobs. Unusual for a normal villager, but not unheard of.

"I'm sorry." Sai apologized. "I thought you were my friend, who loves to jump on me in an attempt to surprise me. Needless to say, he hasn't gotten me yet." His mouth formed the words of an excuse automatically. His ability to lie effectively had gotten him far in the Foundation, and he still put the ability to good use.

"Hey, it's no problem." The man smiled. "Never thought I'd get to run into you! You're Sai, right? One of the kids I teach talks about you. Do you know a Kazu? Short kid with dark green hair?" His friendly were rewarded as a little of the fakeness left Sai's smile.

"I do." Sai allowed. "I used to play with him a lot when his father went on missions. He always liked a good game of football*. So you're his teacher? I guess you're a shinobi, then."

"Oh, heavens no. I tutor him in mathematics and take him out for dinner occasionally at the local dango stand." The dark haired man stuck out his hand. "The name's Ryuu." Sai took the hand, and shook it. Ryuu didn't give his last name, and Sai politely refrained from asking.

"Bring Kazu over sometime, Ryuu-kun." he invited. "We can all go out to some dango together."

As they parted, Sai's smile faded. While had been talking to Ryuu, he hadn't sensed Raidan's presence at all. Perhaps it was just his imagination. But as he continued walking, a nagging feeling in the back of his mind kept him on his toes.

* * *

The candlelight cast alternating soft shadows and a gentle yellow glow on the faces of the diners. The deep red carpet and plush walls, apart from being stylish, served quite well to muffle the conversations in between the widespread tables. Every single customer there was dressed for an evening out, with warm jackets hanging on the backs of their chairs.

Ino put her fork down and frowned at Sai. He was listlessly picking at his food, which was still untouched.

"You haven't eaten all day." she said flatly. "What's wrong? Are you sick?" She found it hard to believe that Sai could even _get_ sick in the first place, and was proved right when he shook his head.

"No, I'm fine. I'm just thinking." Sai took a small sip of water. "Thank you for your concern, ugly."

Despite herself, Ino laughed. "I know that you learned girls appreciate being called the opposite of what they are, but you don't have to follow the rule in my case."

"I don't?" Sai sounded surprised. "But then, what should I call you? Perfect?"

Ino blushed furiously. "Stop it!" she protested, unconsciously reaching one hand up to twirl a lock of her hair around her finger. "Just Ino would be fine!"

"No, no." Sai demurred, a faint twinkle in his charcoal-coloured eye. "Nicknames are very important to relationships, you see. Every single book I read stresses that fact. So why not go with perfect? Is it too formal for you?"

"How about just using my name as a nickname?" Ino returned.

"Is he making up nicknames? Tell me if you need someone to punch him for you!" A girl's voice called. Ino turned around in her seat to see a group of four people approaching; Naruto, Hinata, Rock Lee, and Sakura.

"Naruto, Lee, is that really you?" Ino asked, astonished. "How did they ever get you to wear _suits_? I mean, Sai's one thing, he actually _knows_ the value of dressing up nicely for dates. But seriously, Naruto in something that isn't orange and Lee in something that isn't green!"

"You might as well congratulate yourself for getting Sai into something that isn't completely black." Sakura pointed out wryly. "Believe me, it took me so long to convince Lee that silk spandex wasn't any more fashionable than regular."

Sai met Hinata's eyes. "How are you, Hinata-san?" he inquired. "Naruto said your training's been going well."

The pale-eyed girl gave a start and then hesitantly smiled back at him. They had been good friends for a while, both of their relatively quiet personalities allowing for some pleasant conversations at the library. Sai had continuously reminded Hinata of the good things about herself, and helped her gain enough confidence so when Naruto finally asked the Hyūga heiress out, she managed to refrain from fainting.

"It has! My father expressed his pride in the hard work I was putting into my training."

While Sai and Hinata chatted, Naruto took the time to look over Sai intently. He noticed that every now and then, Sai's eye would swiftly glance from side to side, as if looking out for someone, and he sat upright in his seat as if ready to jump out at any moment. Gently disentangling his arm from Hinata's, Naruto made his way over to Ino and whispered into her ear.

"Hey, Ino- Sai looks kinda weird. Everything all right?"

"I keep on asking that, but he won't answer me directly." Ino muttered back. "It's like he doesn't trust me with whatever's bothering him."

Sai took no notice of the whispered conversation in between Naruto and Ino. He kept one ear tuned to whatever Hinata was talking about, but with the other he listened to the goings-on of the restaurant.

_'Here, too...'_ he thought uneasily. _'I knew that they would come for us sooner or later, but I thought that Konoha was the safest place to be. And that still doesn't explain why they haven't shown themselves, though I keep sensing him.' _

"Sai-kun, Sakura-san just came up with the completely amazing idea that all of us could go take a night walk together through some old training fields and see the stars! It is just the thing that youths do to celebrate their love!" Rock Lee enthused. Startled, Sai looked up and met his huge, wholly trusting eyes.

"The old training fields?" Sai asked distinctly. _'Outskirts of the village, abandoned when new fields were constructed. Now becoming overgrown with wildflowers and lined with wild rose bushes. Sufficiently isolated enough to allow for an ambush, and allows just the right cover for enemies to conceal themselves in.'_ "Sorry, Lee-kun, I'm staying at Ino's house today, so I don't want to come back late and appear rude. Should we go, Ino?"

The blonde girl rose gracefully from her seat and let him slip his arm through hers. Sai relaxed slightly as her gentle presence blotted out the threatening one. He entertained his fingers with Ino's, managing to push away all dark thoughts for that one moment.

_'What if they attack when Ino's with me?'_ The thought flitted across his mind, and he began worrying anew.

* * *

Deidara listened attentively as the schoolteacher began his lesson, taking notes from his position in the back corner of the class. He understood the basic concept of what was being said but he marveled at the patience that the man showed with the classroom full of four-year-olds.

"Class, we have a very special guest today." Eizo beckoned for Deidara to come, and the man left his seat to stand by him. "This is Deidara-san, who's our new intern, which means he'll watch us learn and help out. If you have any questions during class, you may ask him as well as me." His voice was friendly as he added, "Deidara-san, would you like to introduce yourself?"

"Erm... yeah." Deidara self-consciously took one step forwards and let his gaze rove around the classroom, meeting fifteen pairs of curious young eyes. _'Shit, what do I say?'_ "So my name's Deidara." His mental self face-palmed.

"How old are you, Deidara-san?" One spiky-haired boy piped up.

"Twenty one." Deidara admitted. "I'm pretty young, mm."

"You're just like Iruka-sensei!" The boy squealed delightedly, jumping out of his seat. "But you're more girly! Are you his brother or his sister?"

"Sit down, Rikuo." Eizo requested. Suitably chastened, Rikuo lowered himself back into his seat.

A darker hand raised, and the girl to who it belonged to spoke. "What are your hobbies?"

Deidara's eyes lit up, and he grinned. "Among several other things, art! But it has to be the right _kind_ of art. It can't be puppets- or dolls. I hate dolls, mm."

"Is it true that you're an exile from your homeland?" Another child asked, and Deidara flushed pink.

"Don't say-" Eizo began, but Deidara interrupted him.

"No, it's okay, Eizo-san." he took a deep breath, and managed to smile at the asker. "Yeah, I was born in Iwagakure, and made some mistakes during my life, but now I'm here. And as far as I'm concerned, this is my home, mm."

"Why do you always mumble after finishing a sentence?"

Deidara lingered in the room after class had been dismissed, unwilling to return back to his apartment just yet. It was only three o'clock in the afternoon, and he had nothing else to do that evening.

"So how come you wanted to be a teacher all of a sudden?" Eizo asked. He was shuffling his papers and slowly placing them in his bag, as if trying to delay leaving for as long as possible. "We regular chunin haven't heard much about you, but we all know you're an arsonist and don't have much patience, and patience is exactly what this job requires. I'm not saying that I expect you to blow up the schoolhouse, just questioning-"

"The wisdom of the Hokage in allowing me to work part-time here?" Deidara quipped. Looking ashamed, Eizo nodded, and Deidara sighed wearily. "Honestly, you're not in the wrong for thinking that, but you're not in the right, either. I can't change who I am, but another part of who I am actually likes kids. I like how trusting they are but dislike how jaded they become as time passes, mm. I want to teach them to always appreciate how fleeting life is, and not take it for granted." A memory occurred to him, and Deidara gave a tiny smile. "Besides, a friend of mine once said I could teach a fish to fly if I put my mind to it, mm. This should be a _little _easier than that."

"Teaching's only half of it. It's up to them whether they want to follow what you teach them, or not." Eizo warned, and Deidara shrugged.

"Win some, lose some."

"Excuse me, is Deidara here?" A feminine voice asked. Startled, both men looked up to see Ino poking her head around the doorway. Seeing him present, she entered the room.

"Ino, hi-" Deidara managed to say before she cut him off.

"We need to talk." Her face was neutral, but at the same time she seemed fragile, as if she were a thunderstorm contained within a glass vase.

"Your sister?" Eizo inquired.

"Er, yeah." Deidara improvised. "Cmon, sis, let's go, I know that I'm in trouble for staying so late..." He grabbed Ino's wrist and pulled her away, ignoring her protest. Only when they were a safe distance from the classroom did he let go and face her. "What's this all about, mm?"

Ino's voice was low, and nervous. "It's about Sai." she began, and Deidara's face hardened.

"What happened?" he asked suspiciously. "Did he do something to you?"

Ino's eyes widened, and she shook her head emphatically. "No, nothing like that! Deidara, he's... changed, over these past five days. He's barely eating, barely sleeping, barely leaving the house except to come help me at work. Whenever I talk to him, I always feel like he's thinking about something else. And the worst thing is, he won't tell me anything!" Her voice broke, and she blinked furiously. "Please, can you talk to him for me? Even _Naruto_ tried, but couldn't get anything out of him. I feel like if there's anyone who can figure out what's bothering Sai, it's you."

Clearly disturbed, Deidara took a while answering. "Of course I'll talk to him..." he began slowly. "I've never seen him act this way before, either, but I think I might have an idea. Tonight he's leaving your house, right? If not, make an excuse for him to leave, mm."

On his way out of the building, Deidara turned a corner and collided with a man going the other way. He managed to keep his footing, while the other man fell.

"Sorry!" Deidara hastily apologized, helping the man up and handing him his glasses."

"It's no problem, I wasn't watching where I was going." The man replied. Deidara scrutinized him.

_'Some teachers stay pretty late.'_ he mused. This one had no aura of power. He was probably a civilian tutor, with pay from the village rulers. _'Gotta hurry, or else Sai'll dump his stuff in our apartment then go hide somewhere until it's too late to talk.'_ Deidara remembered, and started to run.

"Hey-" the man began, but Deidara was already gone.

* * *

The spartan, unadorned wooden door banged open and Deidara practically fell into the room, panting. He got up, and his heart sank; there was no one there. _'Where could he have gone?' _Deidara wondered, before a loud banging distracted him. The window had been thrown open, a breeze causing the wooden shutters to repeatedly smack against the wall. Finally realizing where the boy had gone, Deidara climbed through the opening and clambered onto the roof. And there he was- Sai was sitting in the middle of the open cement space. As soon as Deidara jumped neatly onto the roof with him, Sai leapt to his feet and whirled around.

"Oh, hello, Deidara." Sai greeted him casually, hand drifting away from the pocket of his flak jacket where he kept his inks.

Deidara crossed his arms and glowered at him. "What's this all about, Sai?" he snapped. "From what I've heard from Ino, whatever's bothering you is making you act paranoid, mm. Acting afraid that your food is poisoned, doing a double-take every few seconds when going down the street, always keeping weapons on you even when you sleep- that is, _if_ you slept."

"I don't do that!" Sai protested, and Deidara snorted derisively.

"Yeah, right. What did you have for dinner today?" Sai didn't respond, or meet his gaze. Sighing, Deidara passed a hand over his face. The longer he looked at his friend, the harder he found it to be angry, which was saying a lot. "Look, Sai, just tell me what's going on." He paused. "Is it...?"

"Yeah." Sai confessed at last. "It's them." Deidara simply nodded as if his worst fears had been confirmed. "Or more specifically, it's _him_. I keep sensing him, almost everywhere I go, but I never see him."

"He could just be camouflaging himself." Deidara suggested helpfully, and Sai shook his head morosely.

"He wouldn't have been able to get inside the village in the first place; the barriers are too strong. Believe me, I've thought about it, and I can't figure it out. Maybe I am growing 'paranoid'. But Deidara, we're marked men. I sincerely doubt that it will do Konoha any good to continue harbouring us. If Raidan truly _did _infiltrate..."

"What are you suggesting?" Deidara interrupted, a growing feeling of unease in his stomach. Sai simply looked at him. _'Damnit, he already knows that I know.'_

"I'm _suggesting_..." A dry and unfamiliar voice said, "That you stay just long enough to keep me company for a few minutes more. I'd hate to have to go to all the trouble of chasing you down again."

They both dropped into a ready stance, standing back to back, eyes seeking out the location of the voice- but nobody was in sight. Deidara bit his lip and turned his head to look at Sai. The pale hand that held the paintbrush was shaking, ever so slightly. Seeing him looking, Sai relaxed and gave him a reassuring smile that didn't reach his eye.

"Don't worry, Deidara." he said calmly. "This isn't fear. It's anticipation."

"That can be worrying in itself..." Deidara mumbled, but indistinctly enough so that Sai couldn't understand. Reaching up, Sai untied his eyepatch and tucked it in a pocket, turning around in a full circle.

"There's a body-shaped heat signature two metres to our left, and below us..." Sai reported. "We'll have to be on our guard."

"I can see it's no use hiding." The voice sighed. Exactly where Sai had pinpointed it, the ground began to crumble. A few blocks of cement quietly broke off and fell into Sai's room, landing on his bed and getting grey dust everywhere. A broad man's shape leapt up from the newly created hole, coming to a neat landing before them. As if on cue, both Deidara and Sai sensed the arrival of a another, shorter man with darker skin, who took up a position behind Sai and facing Deidara. The bomber didn't recognize the first arrival, but Sai did.

"Ryuu?" Sai asked in disbelief. The 'tutor' looked anything but. He was dressed in a new and too-small flak jacket, obviously stolen but packed with exploding tags and shuriken. He removed his glasses, polished them with the hem of his shirt, then let them drop to the ground.

"Kazu sends his regards, Sai." Ryuu said cheerfully. "Not that he knows what I'm doing, of course. But I'm sure he would approve if I ever told him that _you_ were the one who killed his father."

"How do you know?" Sai asked bleakly. There was only one other person besides him who possibly could have known about that dark day. Smirking at him, the man closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they had gone from blue to black- the eerie, midnight black eyes of insects.

"An interesting man." Raidan mused. "He gave up his body to me quite willingly, and we get along so well. His partner over there, Kiero-" Raidan indicated the man facing Deidara- "Well, let's say for the present that he's not much of a conversationalist. Which is funny, since he originally came from Kumogakure, who aren't the laconic type. I have to say, you were the most entertaining, but Ryuu-kun here is the runner-up." Throwing his arms out to the sides, the elder Jashinist gave Sai a wide grin. "Isn't this great? It's a reunion! And the best part is, I can do _whatever_ I want! My abilities are sadly limited in this body, but that's why I have a partner to help me out."

Deidara nudged Sai with his elbow, and Sai shifted an infinitesimal amount. Not noticing this, Raidan kept talking. However, Kiero noticed, and immediately brought his hands together in the 'bird' seal. Lightning took shape around his fingers, extending itself to cover the lengths of his arms. Deidara was ready for him, opening his palm and letting a number of clay crickets leap at him. Seemingly panicked, Kiero swung his arms wildly, hitting every single cricket to try and keep them away. Deidara gave him a wolfish grin.

"That won't work- not with _my_ art, mm! Katsu!"

Nothing happened. Kiero's face remained impassive, but he picked up one of the unreactive crickets and slowly crushed it in between his fingers, then Deidara realized his mistake.

_'His lightning! Earth is weak to lightning- he must have sent an electrical charge each time he touched one of my creations, and neutralized it!' _Snarling, the blonde switched tactics and attacked the silent assassin head on, spinning around and kicking him in the shoulder when the other man turned to block the strike. _'His rate of response is pretty slow.'_ Deidara noted. _'Either the Akatsuki's gotten desperate, or their standard for hired lackeys was lowered.'_ Confident now, he struck again and again, forcing Kiero to step back. Finally, Deidara threw an exceedingly swift punch- and found it blocked by Kiero's crossed, defensive and lightning-enshrouded arms. A small shock ran up Deidara's arms, and he disengaged, rubbing his arms furiously to try and rid himself of the feeling.

"You overstepped yourself." Kiero said tonelessly, and then while Deidara was distracted, he vanished.

"What the hell?" The bomber muttered, before stiffening. Two fingers lightly touched his neck, but the shock that emanated from those fingers traveled down his spine and temporarily froze his entire body. Deidara could only watch, angry and helpless, as Kiero turned his attention to Sai.

Sai turned his head, and saw his friend lying motionless. His eyes widened, and he began to run to him- but then Raidan was blocking his way. The man, using Ryuu's abilities, blew a blast of wind that sent Sai stumbling backwards. Attempting to counter, Sai created a shield of water around himself, but then Kiero raised his arms and pointed them at the swirling tides. Seeing his movements faintly through the shimmering protective curtain, Sai quickly leaped upwards, avoiding electrocution as two discs of lightning struck the water.

Despite his predicament, Deidara could not help feeling a little proud.

_'Yeah, like you ever had a chance.'_ he thought savagely as Sai formed hand seals in midair, sending a small tidal wave of water to crash into Kiero and nearly throw him off the roof. _'He's my partner, all right. If you hadn't caught us by surprise like that, you'd already be dead.'_ He looked around for Raidan/Ryuu, and then found that he couldn't see him anywhere. The roof beneath him trembled slightly. Deidara felt a flicker of alarm and tried to move, but he had just propped himself up on one side before his arm gave out on him.

"Sai." Deidara whispered, his voice hoarse. Sai didn't hear; he was exchanging blows with Ryuu now, neither of them able to land a hit. The boy leaped into the air, dodging a deadly wind blast, and at the same time Deidara felt a sudden shift in the roof, the cement moving as if something was tunneling its way through it. Sai landed feet-first on the roof, and immediately gleaming metal erupted from below him and ensnared him, trapping his legs and arms. Sai struggled to free himself, but the grip was relentless. A satisfied smile spread across Ryuu's face.

"Just like old times, neh?" Raidan asked. He stretched out a hand and lightly ran it down the scar across Sai's golden eye, his eyebrows rising in puzzlement. "Not exactly... you do have some imperfections now, that's true. But you seem stronger. You're not the wimpy little kid you were before. I can't put my finger on it- Was it Orochimaru who changed you? Or was it just experience? I think I'd go with the latter- that shitty snake's not a miracle worker. Looking at you now, I feel like you'll actually make a worthy opponent should I face you in my main body. But what a shame! My orders say otherwise, damn them."

"You're not here to kill us?" Sai questioned, looking as calm as if he were simply asking about the weather.

"Well, not _exactly_- I'm supposed to kill _him_-" Raidan pointed at Deidara, who was still trying to get to his feet without falling- "...Since his abilities are too dangerous to be allowed to be used for the enemy. However, I'm willing to make a deal. You, as of now, are the only person in the shinobi world who can utilize that unique ink animal jutsu, where your creations can transform themselves into words. Your greatest potential lies not in combat, but in espionage. A new era is dawning, Sai-kun, and to be foremost in that era the Akatsuki need your skills. Unfortunately, I cannot use the same technique on a person twice, which means that we'll have to do this a different way."

"You mentioned a deal." Sai put in. He was still discreetly trying to somehow loosen the steel immobilizing him, but with little success.

"Yep!" Raidan said cheerfully. "Join us willingly, and I'll let your friend over there get off scot-free. However, if you go and cause a ruckus, I might have to kill you in order to get away, and I'm going to have to kill Blondie for sure. Which is it going to be?"

Deidara crashed back down to the ground again after a fourth time getting up, and he glared at Sai.

"Well?" he demanded. "What's taking you so long, mm? How hard is it to say no?" Sai took a deep breath, and then let it out again, but remained silent. Deidara became unsettled, and he raised his voice. "Sai, don't let them win!" he said urgently. "I'm- I'm fine! Even if it means dying, there's no damn _way_ I'll let someone like Raidan have the satisfaction of being on the winner's side, mm!"

Ryuu's lips curled into a grin. Raidan was enjoying every minute of their internal struggles, and Deidara hated it.

"I'm sorry, Deidara." Sai whispered at last. He hung his head, shoulders slumping. "You're free to call me a traitor, a bastard, whatever you like... but I can't do this. I can't let you die, not after everything we've gone through, even if I have to help our enemy again." Raising his head, he looked Raidan in the eye. "I'll come." The words sounded alien and foreign, not like Sai at all.

Utterly lost for words, Deidara just stared at Sai, missing the gleam of triumph in Raidan's black eyes.

"Good, good!" The immortal said merrily. "Now, I gotta put him out for a while so he doesn't start chasing after us and raise the alarm, then we'll head off." Stepping away from Sai, Raidan began sauntering forwards. Behind him, Sai looked up at the sky, and he stiffened, eyes apprehensive. A person landed noiselessly on the roof, having leapt over from a higher building, then jumped into the air again just as Raidan whirled around. Seeing nothing there, he relaxed, then-

_Crunch_. The sound of either a herd of elephants falling from the sky or just a very strong person striking rock resounded through the air. A pair of feet slammed down on Raidan's shoulders, throwing him into the cement so hard that the roof cracked and broke right through, making both the criminal and the mysterious attacker vanish into Sai's room below.

Sai stumbled as the steel binding him suddenly vanished, then he ran over to Deidara and helped him up. Two ANBU appeared at the roof's edge, just as the first shinobi emerged from the hole, her long blonde hair dusted grey and holding an unconscious Ryuu slung over her shoulder.

"How _stupid_ of them..." Tsunade snapped, rising to her full height, "To try and carry out an assassination in full view of my upstairs house window."

* * *

"What the hell are you suggesting?" The Hokage slammed her fist into the table, making her aide flinch. Thankfully, the desk did not break, through an alarming _crack_ was heard.

_'Whew...'_ Shizune thought gratefully. _'We've already had to replace two these past few days... Lady Hokage is certainly having a stressful week.'_

Sai remained as composed as ever. "I wasn't merely suggesting. It should be clear, should it not? Our presence here is doing more harm than good. Now that the Akatsuki have pinpointed our location and discovered ways to get at us, they will stop at nothing to ensure our prompt elimination. They know that Konoha is weakened after the invasion by Pein."

"We don't want to cause any more trouble than we already have." Deidara added, uncharacteristically serious. "I don't want innocent people to get hurt because of or caught up in our personal problems."

Tsunade let out a short bark of laughter. "Problems?" she quipped sarcastically. "Your lives are worth nil if you give up the protection we can offer you by staying. If you two go on the run, you'll be on your own."

"It's not like we are still genin." Sai pointed out mildly. "We know how to defend ourselves, and are definitely more adept at disguise than you would think. Think of your own time away from the village, Tsunade-sama. It's not that hard to keep shinobi skills concealed. True, it's a difficult path, trying to make a living while being hunted, but it's entirely preferable to what we are doing now, which is depending on others to protect us."

Seeing that the Hokage was still wavering, Deidara threw in his last card and prayed that she would agree.

"It's for the good of the village, mm. Isn't that a Hokage's duty? Ensure the safety and well-being of all those under your care. We'd be removing ourselves from your care, and thus protecting others by that."

"All right." Tsunade relented. "I'll give you two days to prepare."

* * *

Soft golden-orange light from the sunset gave the evening world of Konohagakure an unreal glow, every edge and contour outlined in black and fire. The gates of the village were open, waiting for two last people to pass through.

Deidara adjusted his backpack and waited patiently for his friend. Sai had been hugging Ino for a good minute, consoling her in his quiet way.

"Besides," he said reassuringly as they separated, "It's not like I'm going to be away forever."

Ino smiled weakly through her tears and brushed her bangs out of her face to see him more clearly. "Even if you are, I could wait." she declared, and Sai shook his head.

"Or you could come after me." he suggested, and both of them shared a small laugh.

"Then you'd have to take me with you!" A loud voice declared. Heading their way were two people- Naruto and Sakura.

"Naruto, you dummy!" Sakura chided. "We'd blow their cover if we ever went after them!"

"Sakura, that won't matter so much." Sai objected. "We'd have to move to a different place if we were discovered, but it would be worth it."

"Definitely." Deidara put in affirmatively. "Sai, we've got to go if we're ever going to get far away enough by midnight. Ino, Sakura, Naruto... we'll be seeing you guys soon. Kick some Akatsuki ass for us, will you?"

"You know, Deidara, we never did get to all do a mission together." Naruto realized. "First thing when you two get back, we'll go on an S-Rank."

"I think they'll be way too tired to do even a D-Rank first thing." Sakura joked, eliciting another small laugh from the others. As Sai and Deidara began walking, the threesome waved at them, calling good-byes.

Sai shouldered his pack, staring down at the ground as he walked. His smile still clung to his face, but it was faded and cheerless. The figures of their friends became smaller and smaller as the two strode further and further away, passing through the gates.

"We'll see them again, mm." Deidara said confidently, eyes bright and determined. "I'm sure of it."

Startled by the overwhelming assurance with which Deidara spoke, Sai stared blankly at him. Then gradually, his face lightened and he nodded.

"Yeah." Sai agreed. "We're going to come back someday."

* * *

*Not American football

...And so, they lived happily ever after.

No, that's not the end. Actually, I don't know what I'll do when I finally do finish. I put so much time into thinking of ideas and scenes for this story, and how to put them all together, that I'll be lost when it ends.

Back to author's notes- I'm sorry for update time, I've been spending most of my free time sleeping instead of writing =| Can't seem to stay awake long enough even when motivated.

Also, during the fight, I hope that I didn't confuse anyone with the whole switching between Raidan/Ryuu thing. The idea was that Raidan was doing the talking, but Ryuu did all the motion.


	26. Bonds of Trust: Part Eight

**Bonds of Trust: Part Eight:**

**Peace**

* * *

Freezing rain pounded the windows of the small cottage. Outside, the wind drove the normally calm harbor waters into a rage, the waves pounding against the wood plank pathways that ran in between several houses and sloshed over low-set docks. However, inside the little house it was warm and well-lit, although rather bare. The kitchen was simple, consisting of a stove, cabinet, table and three chairs. Nothing hung on the walls except for two very wet jackets, and nothing lay strewn about as if the occupants of house didn't expect to stay long in their homely abode.

Sai sat in one chair and watched little swirls of steam rise from his amber coloured tea. Deidara was sitting opposite him, idly stirring his own tea with the wrong end of a spoon. Both of them wore the old clothes that a peasant or farmer might don on colder mornings; their sweaters alone looked to be at leave five years old.

Deidara absentmindedly fingered his long braid. He had pulled his bangs back, and begun wearing his hair in a rough braid in a successful attempt to better hide his identity. Tsunade had originally ordered him to cut his hair, but the man wouldn't hear of it. Sai, on the other hand, had no such qualms, and cut his hair so it hung midway down his neck. Both of the two were thinner and more worn than usual, but the atmosphere in the room was a contented one. The blonde man took a sip of his tea and then set it down, giving Sai a mischievous grin.

"So, _nii-san_, what'd you think of work today?"

Sai's black eye twinkled with merriment, but he kept a straight face. "It was quite good, but I still haven't gotten feeling back in my fingers."

"I still can't believe that they believe that we're related- we don't even look alike! And we don't act like brothers- do we?" Deidara added uncertainly. Sai thought of his childhood with Shin; their playful fights, their quiet moments, the way that the older boy always tried to get Sai to loosen up and show emotion. Sai smiled and rose from the table.

"Actually, we do." he said simply. "Are you going to finish that, or can I wash it?"

"Nah, I'm done. Thanks, mm." Deidara handed Sai the half-empty glass. "Tomorrow it's my turn to wash the dishes, right?"

"Yes." Sai affirmed. "I'll help you, though- we have to stay late tomorrow repairing any damages caused by this storm, and we should probably do some bridge-work too. That bridge is vital to this village's survival."

"You mean the Great Naruto Bridge?" Deidara tried to suppress a snicker but failed miserably. "Say, do you know if that bridge was named after Naruto, or it was just a coincidence?"

Sai paused, unsure. "Just a coincidence." he replied. "The Land of Waves is a small country. They would never have heard of Naruto."

* * *

The next morning, though late in coming, dawned with full vigor. Sai and Deidara had already been hard at work for an hour before the first tendrils of pink crept through a lightening sky. Brow furrowed in concentration, Sai used a long pole from where he stood on the dock to scrape ice off the edges of a small canoe. The coating of ice was thick and stubborn, but he kept whittling away at it with dogged determination. At the edge of the dock, Deidara was walking around and breaking up the thick ice that had formed on the rim. It was tedious work, and the winter cold seeped right through their gloves. It hadn't snowed yet, but it was certainly freezing enough to support a snowfall.

Deidara's pole slipped, and he almost lost it to the water had he not made a swift grab.

"Damn this!" he cursed. "Sai, can I _please_ use an explosion? I'll make an exploding cricket- a teeny tiny one, mm. Just enough to get this stubborn piece of ice gone and small enough so that no one will notice."

Sai shook his head regretfully. "We're civilians, Deidara. We can't use any kind of jutsu, remember?"

"Yes, but- ah, forget it." Deidara gave up the argument and returned to his work. Ten minutes passed by, filled with only their even breathing and sharp chipping noises. However, the man was still not appeased, and spoke again after thinking deeply. "Say, Sai, don't these villagers bother you?"

"How so?" Sai queried, utterly puzzled. "They're nice, they're friendly, they don't give us any trouble..."

"That's exactly it." Deidara interrupted. He had abandoned his work for the moment, and stood facing Sai with an uneasy expression. "They're so _open, _so _trusting_. How can they accept us just like that? We arrive in the village, we get a good job, we settle down, and there they are treating us like we've been around for years, mm. How can these people be like that?"

Sai leaned on his pole and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Well you see, Deidara, this is a wholly civilian country. They can afford to be more carefree than those living in militant countries like Konoha. They don't need to worry about spies trying to take their villages secrets of invasion by a stronger nation. All they need to worry about are basic things like food, shelter, family, and their friends. Still, I agree with you- it makes me feel strange, as well. But..." he hesitated. "I- I sort of like it here. It's so peaceful and happy, even in winter when the seas are harsh. I admit, after spending some time here, I dream about settling down permanently."

"It's too quiet for me." Deidara admitted. "To never get to use my art again, except in secret- that's asking too much, mm. Apart from that, I've no problems with living here."

Sai nodded, then continued scraping off ice. "Let's just hope that they don't track us down here." he said darkly. "I-"

"Villager." Deidara muttered quietly, cutting him off. Sai quickly changed his topic.

"After this, how about we head over to the next dock?"

"Good job, boys!" A cheerful voice called out. It was strong and brassy, despite its owner being at least sixty years old. The man had dark grey hair, and deeply tanned, weathered skin. His eyes were bright and gleaming behind a pair of round glasses. "I see you're almost done with this dock!"

"Good morning, Tazuna-san." Sai greeted him, and Deidara murmured a hello. "Yes, we are. How's your grandson?"

"Inari? He's splendid, thank you for asking. He's going to be working under me, helping oversee the repairs we're doing on the Great Naruto Bridge after the meeting today."

"We'll be coming." Deidara put in. "Coming to help repair it, that is." The old bridgebuilder looked at him in surprise, and with a degree of skeptism.

"You're coming to repairs after your main job here? That's a lot of work; are you completely sure about it?"

"We're sure." Sai answered. "My brother and I like to keep busy, especially in this cold weather. No time for sitting idle when there's work to be done."

"Reasonable enough, but you could just laze around in your warm house instead. Still, thank you for joining the crew." Tazuna said gratefully. "You know, it's been just super with you two around. Ever since you guys came, you've been a great help. We've been in need of people to prepare the boats in the morning for ages, and just when the hardest season of all arrives, along come not one but _two_ able-bodied people. What's more, they turn out to be pleasant, polite, and dedicated. Deidara-kun, Sai-kun, you're godsends."

Embarrassed, Sai didn't respond, while Deidara let out a small laugh and shrugged.

"We don't do _that_ much... Really, it's no problem, mm. So Tazuna-san, I hear the holiday fair is coming up. Do you possibly think me and nii-san could participate?"

"Of course!" Tazuna seemed shocked at the question. "Listen, I gotta start heading back to pick up Inari, but I'll pass your request on to the village council, and they'll reserve a spot for you. Why couldn't you participate, anyways? You're a part of our community. We'll be glad to have you there!"

"Thank you!" Deidara called after him, and as soon as he was out of earshot, sighed loudly. "Sai, remind me again of the rules?"

"We'll be fine. We can't do anything that will make us known outside of the Land of Waves. A small village's Christmas festival won't do any harm. Just remember not to make your exhibit outstanding."

"Bah." Deidara grumbled, annoyed. "Mediocrity is not my forte, mm. It's either perfection or nothing."

"We'll have to live with things, just like we always have." Sai told him. "Isn't that all we can do?"

Deidara's eyes were riveted on the packed ice, but he gave a tiny, bitter smile, reflecting his voice.

"Honestly, I'm not complaining. I'm just happy that we've made it this far. I keep thinking of the irony of things- that Sasori, who believed in eternity, died, and I, who preach briefness, still live. I keep thinking that sooner or later, that's going to change, mm. Just when I start wanting to experience this 'eternity', things..." Deidara trailed off; his gloved fingers tightened on the wood of his pole.

Sai was lost for words. "Deidara, you..."

"To hell with it, mm." Deidara suddenly spat out, jabbing his pole into an ice patch venomously. The ice gave way underneath the sudden strike and floated out into the harbor. "Let's just enjoy the moment, okay? Forget I said anything."

Silent, Sai looked at the dock without seeing it for a long while. His wooden pole was held loose and forgotten in his left hand. Slowly, it slid out of his grip and clattered upon the dock, startling them both. Hastily Sai bent down to pick it up, and stowed it away in the canoe.

"Do you want to take a break... Deidara?" Sai asked, almost hesitantly. The man glanced at him swiftly then averted his gaze. "We can go get some tea, or coffee, if you'd like."

"Coffee sounds better at this time of morning." Deidara muttered as they began walking off the frozen docks. "Thanks. And-" he broke off, struggling with himself, but eventually forced out another word: "Sorry."

"No, I understand." Sai answered. Deidara gathered up the courage to look at his friend, and found that Sai was staring at the ground instead. The pale boy had a small, sad smile that looked out of place on a face that wasn't supposed to show anything real. "You're not the only one who feels that way. At this point, all we can do is trust in ourselves, trust in our friends, and trust in hope."

Their meandering steps had taken them out of the harbor area, into the neat little village. People were starting to come out for the day, calling greetings to each other and scraping frost off of their windows. Deidara felt a warm current pass through his body, and he allowed himself to be caught up in it, allowed himself to believe his friend's words.

"Just how many books have you been reading, Sai?" he joked, and Sai laughed.

"Many."

"Good morning, Deidara-kun, Sai-kun!" A voice called out. Their heads turned in unison to see an older lady sweeping the boards in front of her house, flyaway grey hair hidden under a thick woolen cap.

"Good morning!" they replied. Deidara gave Sai a nudge.

"Who was she?" he asked in an undertone.

"Charle Neko. We took in her three cats when she went to visit relatives, remember?" Sai whispered back, and recognition dawned in Deidara's eyes.

"Oh, right. Good morning to you, Neko-san!" he yelled. A bright orange tabby cat gave a loud meow as it jumped up onto one of the old crone's bent shoulders and remained there, staring at Deidara and Sai with huge yellow eyes, leaving the blonde man unsure of whether he had addressed the cat or the crone.

"Are you boys heading to the town meeting?" she required in her reedy voice. The two exchanged looks of confusion. "You're not? You're wanted there! You both _are_ of age, after all. I'm sure that you have interest in the goings-on of our beautiful village! The town hall is on the second turn to the left, this large house on a piece of ground. Had to build it that way, after a storm sank it once!" The woman gave a dry, cracking laugh. "Now, Get going- they'll be starting! Go on, shoo!"

Flustered, Deidara beat a hasty retreat, Sai jogging after him. They took the second left as directed, and found themselves in front of two wooden double doors. Sounds of adult laughter and chatter came through the walls.

Sai looked at Deidara questioningly. "Should we go in?"

"Yeah, I could go for a bit." Deidara pushed open one door, holding it for Sai, then closed it behind them. The room was still rather small for a meeting hall, but it warm yellow light diffused through the air, coming from lamps set at thoughtful intervals all over the room- on the ceiling, on the various small round tables, spaced across the walls. Taking off his coat, Deidara hung it on one of the hooks, Sai hanging his on the hook next to his. A rectangular table at the head of the room was ready with several pots of coffee and empty cups in which to drink from. Sai took off his gloves and stuffed them in his only shirt pocket.

"Hello!" A man greeted. Turning, they saw a tall brown-haired man in his thirties, with large, kind brown eyes and a short goatee. "Say, Deidara- can I call you that?"

"Go ahead, Takoyo." Deidara waved for him to continue. Relieved, the older man continued.

"Why don't you take off your gloves? It's warm in here. I could take them and put them by a lamp to dry them off." Takoyo offered. Deidara paused for the slightest second before answering.

"No, s'alright. I don't like taking off my gloves, since my hands are pretty badly scarred. Burnt them when I was a kid, mm." Apparently satisfied by the explanation, Takoyo nodded and indicated the coffee pot.

"When you're done, come sit over at our table. Our discussion topic should interest you."

Sai carefully poured himself some coffee. _'Deidara managed to cover up his defining trait quite easily... I should start thinking of what to say if they ask what happened to my other eye... Shouldn't be too hard. This isn't new for me, after all. Yet this feels different from all the times I infiltrated foreign villages as a member of Root. This time, it's not just a mission, it's my life.'_

He navigated carefully through the sea of tables and took a seat between Deidara and Takoyo, setting the coffee cup down.

"So what's our topic for today?" Sai asked. "Unfortunately, my brother and I don't get to socialize much, so perhaps you might fill us in?"

The other men, minus Deidara, exchanged looks, as if they were withholding some delightful secret. Finally, one leaned forward, relishing the moment. He interlocked his fingers and stared at the newcomers with quirked eyebrows.

"We were thinking..." the man said slowly, to drag out the suspense. "That this year, at the festival..."

* * *

A large, broad-shouldered man walked slowly through a dim stone hallway, deep in thought. That is, if he could be called a man- his gills, sharp cheekbones, small round eyes, sharp teeth and blue skin all screamed otherwise. His footsteps sounded heavily upon the ground, making incessant echoes. He turned down into a smaller hallway, then stopped before a certain door marked with a splash of black ink, and opened it.

Everything was neatly arranged. Pictures still hung on the walls. A bamboo pan flute still lay on the desk, over a blank sheet of white paper. A brush still rested in an open pot of ink, as if any moment the room's occupant was going to come in and start painting. Movements slow, as if he were unsure of what he was looking for, Kisame opened one drawer.

Nothing was there.

He closed it and opened another, then another. Every single drawer was completely empty. Even the wardrobe was devoid of clothes.

_'Raidan must have come through here and searched through everything...'_ Kisame thought idly. _'He used to be fun hanging out with, but ever since Sai and Deidara left, he's been going crazy trying to track them down. Even Itachi said he was becoming paranoid, and Itachi knows all about that- especially since his younger brother became obsessed with killing him. Heh, Itachi... things haven't changed much, have they? Or rather, we're the ones who aren't changing.' _

Footsteps quieter now, Kisame drew back Sai's chair and sat in it, moving away the set of reed pipes and staring at the blank page. _'Raidan's been gone for a month now ever since he came back to report on his failure in the Leaf Village, but To- Madara doesn't seem concerned, or anythin'. I wonder what became of the two kids. Deidara was annoying as hell sometimes, and Sai was blank as hell, but they were cool enough. Raidan probably got a lead on their location.'_ For some reason, the shark-man didn't feel satisfied by this. A strange feeling of regret rose in him, and he made no attempt to push it away. _'Damn... I hate it when those who are supposed to be brothers go and kill each other...'_

* * *

The winter atmosphere of the village that night was far from cold. Colourful, traditional lanterns hung on strings from house to house, casting rippling reflections on the dark waters. Lyrical strains of pipe and violin music drifted through the air, for all of the party-goers to hear. A festive mood prevailed, with red and green being prominent colours in the decorations, despite the lack of snow to add the final touch. Christmas was but two days away, and everyone was celebrating the fact. The village square was on a small island in the middle of one of the Wave village's many harbors. Upon it the instrumental band played holiday tunes, people mingling and dancing around them. On the boardwalks, many stands had been set up, at which various amusements were displayed. Villagers would work on something special all year to present at the winter festival in return for praise.

Sai sat next to Deidara in front of a small white fold-out table, the blonde man busily kneading some clay. He still hadn't taken his gloves off, but did exchange them for a lighter brown pair. Both of them wore home-knit scarves. Sai's was dark green, and Deidara's was blue.

"I'm glad we took these with us, mm." Deidara adjusted his scarf before returning to his work. "Your girlfriend's a master at knitting, did I ever say that? And say, is knitting an art?"

"Must be." Sai said thoughtfully. "Just using yarn, not paper or clay."

"Imagine if you didn't draw animals, but used a _knitting_ jutsu instead." Deidara laughed. "I'd love to see that!"

"Hm, so would I." Sai gave him a wide smile, leaving Deidara unsure of whether the boy was being serious or not. Seeing his blank expression, Sai lightly flicked Deidara on the shoulder. "Can you not tell when I'm making a joke?"

"It didn't even cross my mind that you were _able _to make jokes in the first place!" Deidara returned playfully.

"Give me some credit for trying." Sai replied, eye twinkling. "Personally, I think it was rather clever, though I'm not as experienced as Naruto. Speaking of which, I wonder how he's doing? How are they _all_ doing?"

"Now that they cannot be in my amazing presence, probably not so great." Deidara smirked slightly. Sai raised an eyebrow at his words.

"Truly? I thought that they would actually be better off without you there. No- no, I was joking again!" Sai held up his hands as the angry blonde gave him a glare. "It looks like people do not appreciate anything that might be demeaning to them or their ego." Sai murmured, half to himself.

"You bast-" Deidara was about to abandon his clay and lunge at him when a small voice interrupted.

"Eto... sir? Sirs?" Both of them turned at the voice, hastily sitting back down. A small girl holding a large stuffed bear with a Santa cap sewed onto its head was tapping the white table. Standing behind her rather protectively was a boy around twelve, who looked to be her older brother.

"Hello, miss." Sai smiled at her. "Anything we can do for you?"

Eyes huge, the girl nodded. Her brown pigtails bobbed up and down, but she remained silent. Stepping forward, her brother spoke for her.

"My pa was telling us about the two new people in town, and wanted to thank you for repairing his boat, but couldn't find the time. He's one of the musicians playing tonight. So, um, he wanted us to give you this." Raising his arm, he lifted a small covered basket and gently slid it their way. Curiously Deidara lifted the cover to take a peek, and found some freshly baked bread and a pot of jam.

"Give him my thanks!" he told the boy cheerfully. "This really smells good! But it's too big of a repayment, mm. Tell you what- I'll make you something."

Startled, the boy was hesitant in replying. "Well, I don't really want anything, but my sister might."

Nodding, Deidara took a piece of clay and began moulding it. Sai saw a wistful glint in the younger boy's eyes as he glanced at Sai's paints.

"Are you an artist, sir?" he asked. "I never knew you painted. I've always loved painting myself, but my pa said it wasn't a respectable career and wouldn't pay for an easel for me to use."

"Would you like to try, then?" Sai invited him. "I have plenty of ink, and some colours, if you want them." Longing shone in the boy's eyes, but still he wavered. "It's almost Christmas." Sai coaxed, rising from his chair. "I'm sure your father is a kind man. He must have taught you to never refuse a gift that's given in good spirit."

Grateful, their young visitor took Sai's spot and began painting just as Deidara finished making a small clay horse for the boy's sister. A small crowd accumulated at their table, and soon, the two runaways found themselves conversing as comfortably with the villagers as if they had lived there for years.

It was well past midnight by the time they got home. Deidara gave a loud yawn and kicked off his shoes, wincing slightly when they hit the wall with a loud _thunk. _

"Deidara!" Sai scolded. "We're only here temporarily, you know." The blonde flopped down in a chair and put his feet up on the table, looking for all the world like a petulant child.

"How long is temporarily?" he returned, and Sai didn't reply. Nothing needed to be said. The festival that night had simply made it painfully obvious that sooner or later, they would have to leave that friendly, peaceful village in the Land of Waves and find somewhere else to live. They'd need new names, new clothes, new jobs, new histories.

Sai poured water into a small silver kettle, in preparation to make tea.

A faint creaking noise reached their ears. The noise of a door being quietly opened and closed. Then, a heavily wrapped figure appeared in the doorway that led from the hall.

"Yo!" A bright voice said.

The kettle crashed into the sink, Sai going into fighting position. Deidara mimicked him, both of his gloves torn off and clay already in one palm.

"Whoa!" The stranger cried. "Guys- don't you recognize me?" Sai and Deidara stared. "Guess not..." Reaching up, the man- was it a man?- unraveled his headwrap and scarf, letting both drop to the floor. Then, he shrugged off his thick coat. The person that emerged was a boy, with blonde hair just barely sticking out from underneath a red bandana and bright blue eyes.

Sai blinked. The boy seemed familiar... "Naruto?" he asked. But it couldn't be him. For one thing, there were no whisker marks on those pink-tinged cheeks. But the voice was unmistakable.

"It _is_ Naruto!" Deidara yelled suddenly, putting the clay back on the table. "What's the Kyuubi idiot doing here? How'd you find us?"

"Tsunade-sama must have told him." Sai explained. "I sent a pigeon with the details of our location to her as per her instructions to keep her informed. But to think that she'd tell Naruto where we were, as well as letting him come... She _did_ give you permission, I assume?" he added suspiciously. Naruto was one of his best friends, but he wouldn't put it past the Jinchuuriki to sneak out of the village. But now the blonde boy was nodding, putting his fears at rest.

"Yeah, she let me! She gave me face paint and a cool disguise! I'm supposed to check up on you for one week, judge the safety of your hideout, blah blah blah. You guys chose a really nice place- the Land of the Waves is full of some great people!" Naruto grinned widely, showing off his characteristic pointed canines. "I had my first real mission here!"

"That bridge _was_ named after you, mm!" Deidara said, dumbfounded. Naruto laughed at his expression.

"It's so cool, isn't it? I passed it on my way here. Oh, and Sai- Ino sends her love." he made a face, but Sai laughed all the same.

"I'd hardly kiss you in her place, but please ferry my good wishes back to her for me." Sai reached down and picked up Naruto's coat, hanging it on the last empty wall hook. "Would you like some tea, Naruto?"

Naruto looked around the kitchen, taking in the neatly kept shelves and dishrack, the glossy wooden table and soft pillows upon each chair. He let his gaze rove over Sai and Deidara after looking at their new home. Both of his friends seemed fine and happy on the outside, but after some consideration he discerned a fatigue in their limbs and a hunted look in their eyes. Clearly, this new life was taking its toll.

_'But that's why I'm really here. To help them remember that there's still hope, that we're still here for them.'_

"Sure, I'd like some tea." Naruto gave the two a brilliant smile. "It's great seeing you again."

* * *

Hopefully it wasn't too fluffy, but I felt as if a break was needed =) I get too depressed writing this story sometimes.


	27. Remember

**Remember**

* * *

Naruto shut the door tightly behind him, relishing in the sudden change of temperature as he entered the warm house. Hanging up his coat, he put on a falsetto female voice.

"Dearies, I'm home!" he yelled.

Deidara gave a small snort of laughter, but played along. "Oh, honey, welcome back! But please lower your voice- wouldn't want to wake the baby! Sai-chan's been sleeping all afternoon!"

Eyebrows shooting up in surprise, Naruto nonetheless tiptoed into the living room, where he saw Deidara sitting on a stool by the couch. Sai was lying fast asleep on the old leather sofa, breaths soft and even.

"Is he really asleep?" the Jinchuuriki asked quietly. Deidara nodded.

"He came home today from work and said he was going to read a book, mm. Then when I went to check up on him after a few minutes, he was like this. Y'know, let's let him sleep, Naruto. He needs it."

Naruto looked at Deidara intently. There were some shadows under the man's eyes as well, and his braid was loose, as if he was too tired to fix it.

"You go and get some sleep too." Sensing a protest, he quickly added, "I'll keep watch, and wake you both immediately if anybody... well, you know. Comes by. Now get going, before you collapse and I have to carry you there, which I definitely _don't_ wanna do."

Giving him a grateful look, Deidara rose and headed down the hallway to his room. Naruto watched him for a while to make sure he made it, then as silently as possible got up. He searched through all the drawers of an ancient-looking wardrobe before he finally found what he was looking for. Unfolding the flannel blanket, he carefully draped it over Sai and sat back down. His friend looked almost unreal when he was asleep, his skin as pale as death. Naruto blinked and looked closer. No, Sai was still breathing.

_'How did things ever turn out like this?...'_ Naruto wondered gloomily. _'It feels like one by one, all of my friends are slipping away...'_ He had already lost Sasuke; there was no way he was going to let Sai and Deidara be taken away from him, too. Tearing his gaze away from Sai's serene face, Naruto looked out the windows. It was only perhaps five o'clock, but the amassing heavy grey clouds made everything seem many times darker.

"Looks like it might snow." he said quietly to himself.

* * *

A tall boy with medium-length, spiky dark brown hair strode through the sleeping forest. The wind was picking up now, making the dead, peeling branches rattle ominously. A shiver that had nothing to do with the cold or impending snow storm ran down Inari's spine. He forced himself to keep looking casual, but his strides became a little longer. The Land of Waves was famous for its mangroves, but right now they didn't look very beautiful at all.

His grandpa had warned him against staying too late looking for snow rabbits to chase, or straying too far from the village. Now, Inari was regretting breaking both of those rules. It had taken him at least an hour to find the path again, but it hadn't been used for a while. Now, he spent even more time trying to push his way through brambles that seemed much less thick than when he had come this way looking for sport.

A patch of brambles rustled. Inari whirled around.

"Who's there?" he demanded. There was nothing. Uneasiness growing in him, the carpenter-in-training increased his stride to a jog. Yet the back of his neck still prickled, and on a hunch he froze for a minute, skipping a step before continuing. Naruto-nii had taught him that trick; changing gait was typically good way to tell whether you were the only person around or not. In that brief moment where his foot hadn't hit the crinkly leaves yet, he heard a second pair of feet taking a hasty step. Inari broke into a run, ducking under an overhanging bush only to stop in his tracks.

Someone was standing in the middle of the path. They weren't dressed for the cold, seemingly wearing only a large black cloak with red cloud patterns. Lank, dead platinum blonde hair fell in messy waves to their shoulders, framing a smiling face. But Inari didn't notice the clothes, or even the face as much as he noticed the two entirely black eyes.

"Hi, there." The strange man said in a friendly voice. Inari couldn't speak. Unreasonable terror took ahold of him and rooted him to the spot. "By any chance, do you come from that village about two kilometres from here?"

Jerkily, Inari's head moved up and down in a nod. _'Why am I so scared?'_ His entire body was shaking. _'I faced off against all of Gato's men when I was a kid, dangit! Why... why am I so scared of this guy...?'_

"Then by any chance, do you know these two guys who moved in there recently? They'd both be around the same age, maybe a few years difference. One's a blonde, one's black-haired- do you know them?"

"What do you want with them?" Inari managed, surprised by the sudden, albeit tiny flare of bravery. He immediately wished he could take back his words. A dark scowl passed over the stranger's face before it vanished, replaced once more with that creepy smile.

"Just do me a favour, okay kid? Run along back home, and tell them that an old friend's waiting for them. If they don't want to come..." he paused, thinking, then his smile became wider. "Then I'll have to come for them."

Inari stared at him, and Raidan frowned. The boy gave a small gasp of shock as Raidan seemed to disappear. Then a sharp, pricking sensation in the small of his back manifested itself, and that same falsely friendly voice whispered into his ear.

"You heard me just fine, kid. Now get the hell going."

The boy didn't need to be told twice. As soon as the sharpness vanished, he leapt forward like a frightened deer and bounded away. Behind him, he heard laughter, laughter that followed him even after he was long out of earshot of the stranger, echoing in his ears and taunting him. Inari dashed and stumbled consecutively through the overgrown path, hands clawing at any brambles in his way. Everything seemed so frightfully dark, like any moment he was going to be jumped. He was so panicked about making a quick escape that he ran head-on into a thorn bush.

Inari gave a terrified squeak and struggled to get out of the grip of the thorns, but to no avail. _'I'm going to die here.'_ he thought numbly. _'He's going to come back, kill me, then go on and kill them and my family and friends and the whole village...'_ In just a few seconds, although it seemed like hours to the entangled boy, Inari slipped out of his coat and left it behind. He continued running, and running, and running...

* * *

Naruto sat in silence at the kitchen table, reading a magazine while having a steaming cup of ramen.

"How long have I slept?" A weary voice asked. Naruto looked up and saw Deidara enter, rubbing his eyes and plopping down across from him. "Is that ramen? Eh... get it away from me, mm..."

"Good morning to you too, sunshine." Naruto grumbled, hand protectively shielding his ramen. "You've only slept an hour. Is Sai still out?"

"No, I'm awake." Sai's voice floated through the doorway, and soon the boy appeared. His hair stuck up in spots, but he didn't seem to mind as he made his way over to the stove. "I'll make some hot water for some instant oatmeal, and that'll be our dinner."

There was a loud squeal as the ancient doorknob twisted, signaling a visitor. Immediately, the trio tensed.

"Who's there?" Sai called. The doorknob rattled, and then the door flew open. A boy, still not in his teens yet but coming close, tripped and fell over the threshold. All of them recognized him.

"Inari!" Naruto was the first at the boy's side. Soon, Deidara was bending down by him as well, though Sai remained standing and looking warily around. Inari's clothes were torn, his skin littered with dirt, small cuts, and bruises. His hair was wild and tangled, with several sticks and small brown leaves in the dark locks. "What happened? You look like a forest creature!"

"Who are...?" Inari glanced at him, no recognition in his eyes. Then he espied Sai and Deidara, and hastily clambered to his feet. Naruto realized his mistake and retreated, carefully adjusting his bandana to hang lower over his eyes. "Sai-san, Deidara-san! I saw... I-" his voice trembled.

"Go on." Deidara encouraged him. "Tell us what you saw, mm."

"Well..." Inari took a shaky breath in a failed attempt to calm his nerves. "I was going back home from chasing rabbits, and then I met this man, who said he knew you."

"What did he look like?" Deidara interrupted urgently, but had a bad feeling that he knew the answer.

"He was tall, with blondish hair- lighter than yours, Deidara-san. He had this black cloak with red clouds, and really, really black eyes, blacker than even Sai-san's. It felt like I couldn't look away, even if I wanted to." The words were rushed, delivered in an unnaturally high-pitched voice. Naruto looked down and saw that Inari's hands were still shaking. "And he said that you guys had to come see him, and that if you didn't, then he'd come himself, whatever that means, and... "

Cold dread sank its claws into Sai, and he took a step backwards, leaning against the counter for support. He stared unseeingly at the tiled floor. _'They've found us... So soon, they've found us, and cornered us. If we run away, then he'll destroy the whole village.' _Forcing himself to swallow his despair, he put on a fake smile.

"Thank you for carrying the message, Inari." Sai strove to make his voice as comforting as possible. "We'll handle everything from here, okay?"

Inari jumped, and then looked up at him. "But- by yourselves?" he protested. "You're part of the village! If there's someone after you- the village will stand up for you! We're not helpless. We all were prepared to fight Gato and his men, and to die for our village, just like those shinobi that you always hear about in stories!"

Deidara almost laughed at the kid's courage. He placed a hand on Inari's shoulder, meeting and holding his gaze.

"That's really brave of you, mm. But no amount of bravery will help you here." he said kindly. "This guy is too much for even your entire village to handle, and I don't want anyone else to get involved in this. The best thing you can do for us right now is go and warn the rest of the village. Tell them to be prepared to run in case of a sudden attack."

Inari's remaining traces of fear vanished, defeated by the cool confidence with which Deidara gave his orders. As if struck by an afterthought, Deidara took off his scarf and wrapped it snugly around Inari's neck.

"Here, mm. You'll need it more than I will."

"I won't let you down!" Inari declared. He dashed out the still-open door, focused wholly on his new task. Sai and Deidara immediately set about preparing; Sai went to a small cabinet and took out two green flak jackets, tossing one to his partner. Naruto watched in awe as they went from place to place, donning shinobi equipment with quiet efficiency. There was no struggling to strap on sandals, no fumbling with buckles or zippers, no rummaging around in various drawers for an item that wasn't there. They looked as if they had been practicing for this moment for weeks.

"Are you ready?" Naruto asked. "Let's go kick some Akatsuki ass!"

Sai tied on his Konoha forehead protector. Deidara replaced his scope so his own headband wouldn't get in its way. Unsettled by their silence, Naruto spoke again.

"Aren't we gonna fight him?" he asked uncertainly. "We're not just going to run away, right?" Sai shook his head.

"No, Naruto. _We_ are fighting. _You_ are going to go with Inari and protect the village, in case anything happens."

"What?" Naruto cried indignantly, cheeks flushing in embarrassment as he realized that they had never meant for him to come along from the start. "I can fight this damn guy! I'm not going to just stay behind like a coward who lets his friends run off to their deaths!"

Deidara flinched at the word. "You don't know him, not like we do." His voice was cold and sharp. "You'd only get in the way. We'd _all_ die if you tagged along and rushed into the situation like you always do, so listen to Sai and stay out of this."

Sai said nothing as he watched the anger on Naruto's face slide off, to be replaced by a pitiful rejection. _'Harsh, but true.'_ Sai reflected. Deidara's flinty blue eyes softened.

"Tell you what- if we aren't back by dawn, ditch the villagers and come after us, mm."

"We should have weakened Raidan enough by then for you to finish him off safely." Sai put in.

Defeated, Naruto just gave a silent nod and followed them out the door. It was beginning to get darker now, the clouds more oppressive than ever.

"We'll see you when we get back, mm." Deidara flashed Naruto a thumbs-up, looking uncannily like Gai for a moment.

Sai nodded and gave Naruto a warm, reassuring smile- something that Naruto would have never thought he'd get to see on Sai's face. "Let's all go have some ramen after that, alright?"

"Ramen? Leave me out!" Deidara joked. Naruto gave a helpless smile, a choking feeling rising up in his throat as his eyes flicked from one to the other. Yet all he could manage was to plaster a bright smile on his face and wave them off as they turned away, leaping into the dead and brown trees.

"Ramen's my treat when you idiots get back!" he shouted. They had heard him- he could hear Deidara letting out a ringing, carrying laugh, while Sai simply waved a hand without looking back. The sight of them was burned into his mind. Both of them were dear to him now. He wasn't sure how long he would be able to stop himself from turning back on the duty they had given him and rushing to their aid.

* * *

At first, they traveled in silence. Raidan had left a clear trail to his location- it was as if he had wanted to be found. Perhaps he did. Perhaps he knew that they would be coming for him.

"Hey, Sai." Deidara spoke first after a few minute's travel.

"Hm?" Sai was trying to plan ahead, thinking of all the possible moves Raidan would make and how they could counter them. He had expected Deidara to be doing much the same, but the man's next words took him entirely by surprise.

"Remember when you first joined up with the Akatsuki?"

"I wouldn't call it _joined_, more like forced." Sai corrected him, but his words were slightly teasing instead of being a rebuke. "But yes, I remember. Thinking back on it, I'm really glad that happened. Where would we be if Raidan didn't exist? It's a scary thought for me. Or maybe, if you hadn't talked to me in those first few days- I'd have already committed suicide to try and get out of the Akatsuki."

"Oh, I still remember that, mm." Deidara laughed. Above them, the first flakes of snow began to fall from the leaden grey sky. The clouds hid the beautiful winter sunset, promising a long and tough night. "Completely lost my character there. I was trying so hard to be aloof and cool, but I couldn't help those words back then."

"Oh, don't regret them. I really appreciated them." Sai said sincerely. "In fact, _I_ don't regret anything."

"Yeah." Deidara agreed. "If I had to go back and do everything over, I wouldn't change a thing, mm."

"Neither would I." They exchanged nods and returned their attention to the task at hand. "Soon it'll be too dark to see." Sai glanced up at the sky, wincing when a snowflake landed in his eye. "I'll be able to see well enough with my other eye, but will you manage?"

"Don't forget that I still have this, mm." Deidara tapped his scope. "I modified it during the war so I would be able to fight in darkened surroundings. Came in handy a good many times after that."

Sai let out a small chuckle. "Yeah, do you remember when Pein made us do night training?"

"It was bullshit!" Deidara said heatedly. "I'm still mad at him for that, mm! If only he hadn't gone and died, I'd have killed him instead to get him back for ordering Zetsu to crop up in my room at two in the morn-"

"One." Sai corrected.

"One in the morning, and scare the living crap out of me!" Deidara amended himself.

Sai frowned as a new thought occurred to him, and it wasn't a pleasant one. "Deidara, what if Raidan isn't alone? Do you remember anyone in the organization who might have been sent with him?"

"Zetsu might come, but he wouldn't interfere, or even be seen- that's not his style, mm." Deidara shrugged. "It's safe to use our original plan, but you're right. I'm working on some more backups. What was that Nara kid's name- Shikamaru? We could sure use his brain right now."

"We can manage." Sai replied. No matter how hard he tried to focus on the oncoming battle, his mind kept drifting off topic. He hadn't wanted to worry Naruto and make the boy even more adamant about coming with them, but the things he had wanted to say... There was so much that he wanted to say._ 'Hey... Naruto... if for some reason, we don't come back... tell Ino I love her, okay?' _Sai gave a small, derisive snort. That was about the farthest from comforting as one could get. _'You've been a great friend, Naruto. That's all I could ask for. Remember that.'_ Even worse.

Deidara fell into a brooding silence. _'I've felt confident in victory before, but now that we're actually going to fight... I can't help but feel as if we haven't accounted for everything. He's sure to have something up his sleeve that we couldn't dream of, and sure to use it against us in the worst possible way. We might actually... no, we can't- it's not possible. But what if Naruto comes, and he's still alive, and...'_

Sai dropped down to the ground, Deidara following him. The trees ended abruptly as the ground sloped off in a small cliff right in front of their feet, little icicles hanging off of the edge. Through the gradually thickening snow, they could see a large expanse of blue and white. Deidara frowned. _'A plain? Here?'_ He activated his scope, and looked closer. _'A frozen lake.'_ he realized. _'And waiting by the edge with his back to us is...'_

"Get ready." Sai said quietly. Deidara nodded, sticking his hand into his pocket and taking out some clay. Sai knelt on the ground, drawing a human-like figure on his paper.

"Hey. Sai." Deidara murmured, and the boy looked up. Their eyes met, and an unspoken agreement passed between them: Whatever happened next, they would see it through together.

* * *

Raidan's thin, stringy hair blew to the side, set aloft by the rising wind. He hummed a little tune to pass the time, occasionally lifting one of his hands to stifle a yawn. He appeared incredibly bored, but not much deduction was needed to see that it was an act. The black orbs of eyes that he possessed glittered with anticipation. They shifted very slightly to the left, then back again.

A hail of kunai shot from somewhere to his left, the thrower shielded from sight by the thickening snowfall and the dark night. The man didn't move, and just as the first one touched him, he disappeared with a puff of smoke. A rotting log thudded into the ground where he had just stood.

Sai and Deidara emerged from their night-black and white surroundings, walking over to the log.

"Basic substitution jutsu, mm." Deidara muttered. "Hopefully that's the only surprise we'll get from him. Can you locate him, Sai?"

Sai's eyes flickered back and forth, searching out traces of where Raidan might have gone. Finally, he nodded. "He's behind us. Looks like he wants to avoid stepping on the lake as much as possible; the ice might be unstable. We'll have to move to surround him and try to keep him on the move, tiring him out. Do you know what I'm talking about?"

Deidara blinked, and then nodded in understanding. _'Starting off with a gamble? If it works, we'll definitely be able to get him, but I don't know how much chakra that kind of jutsu uses for you.'_

"Making plans within my earshot again?" A dry voice asked. Raidan appeared from the swirling snow, his strides long and slow. He was reaching into one of his robe pockets, drawing out a long scroll, and then bit his finger, smearing a little of his blood onto the scroll to summon the scroll's contents. There was a little puff of smoke, and a huge, all-too familiar contraption with three, crimson red blades emerged.

Raidan caught Hidan's long-lost blade in his left hand and gave it an experimental swing, winding the chain around his forearm. "Not bad." he mused. "Nii-chan never let me use this after I lost mine, saying something about fucking praying to Jashin-sama for another Jashin-damned scythe, but now that he's gone... and don't think this will be like last time," he added. "I've been training for months upon months, performing ritual upon ritual, killing target after target. All of those were just runners-up to this one moment..." His gaze switched to Sai. The boy was looking at him without a bit of expression upon his face, but there was an intenseness in his eyes that unsettled the older man. Raidan's mood swiftly plummeted and he lashed out with the scythe, three deadly blades flying toward the duo with blinding speed.

Sai just barely managed to avoid it, stumbling backwards, and as soon as his footing became unstable Raidan ran forwards, kicking him. A movement out of the corner of his eye- without pausing a beat, Raidan twirled his left arm, the scythe swinging downwards and passing straight through Deidara's back.

"One stray sheep down, one more to go!" Raidan said cheerfully. Sai appeared lost in shock, attempting no resistance as the weapon swung in an arc to his head.

"...I wonder what he's seeing..." Deidara whispered to Sai. His friend shrugged, watching a little grin tug at the corner's of Raidan's mouth. The man was staring straight ahead, scythe loosely hanging at his side, to all appearances lost in his own little world. "Well, if you're going to attack, make your move soon, mm. I don't know how much chakra a genjutsu takes, but seeing as you're not much better than I am with them, you should conserve it. Move before you're forced to dispel the illusion."

Sai nodded, and drew a long katana from a sheath on the back of his flak jacket. He kept his inks closer to his side, but to use those he'd have to dispel the genjutsu first. A longsword was the best way to kill Raidan with little risk to themselves. Steps smooth and silent, he glided over the snow and swung his blade for a quick, relatively clean decapitation.

A hand rose up faster than he could blink, grabbed his wrist, and twisted. There was a little _click, _hardly audible over the wind, but Sai let out a small cry and dropped the katana. The crimson scythe came down, but he was already freed from the grip, dancing away from the attack. However, not nearly fast enough- the edge of one blade grazed his cheek, leaving behind a shallow cut. A thin line of red welled up and trickled down his face.

"Shit!" Deidara swore. "Sai, you alright? What did he do?"

"He must have avoided the genjutsu somehow, and just pretended he was under its power." Sai took ahold of his right wrist with his left hand and braced himself, twisting it again. "Just a small dislocation, enough to temporarily block some nerve signals from the hand, but it's fixed now. More importantly, we now have to..." His words trailed off. Raidan's eyes were fixed on them, but he was trailing one finger along the top of the scythe, licking some of the blood off of his finger. "He isn't..."

"He can't, mm." Deidara said automatically. "With this snowfall, he'd never be able to perform the ritual."

"Over and over, I'm being underestimated." Raidan sighed. "You're right, of course. Neither I or my dear brother would be able to perform the traditional Jashinist ritual in this damn weather. However, after taking in the blood of an opponent- actually, any living creature, there are certain... things, I can do." Putting his hands together, he formed the 'tiger' seal and murmured a short string of complex-sounding words. Sai and Deidara immediately retreated a few steps, but as they watched Raidan carefully, the man began to disappear, finally vanishing completely.

"My scope can't trace him." Deidara said tersely, and Sai shook his head.

"I can't find him, either. Do you-" The black-haired boy broke off, clenching his teeth, one hand grasping at his left shoulder. "No... this is just like last time... Deidara, get away!" His warning came just in time- a hand and arm holding the red scythe seemed to come right through Sai's black shirtsleeve and thin fingers, the scythe swinging out on it's chain and just missing cutting through Deidara's head. However, the bomber didn't retreat. Instead, he simply bent backwards, ducking underneath the slash and throwing a kunai at the arm. It retreated and vanished swiftly. Sai shuddered involuntarily as Raidan's presence vanished, and the man materialized a short distance away, scowling.

"Of course, I can't do it for long, and when I don't have full control over somebody, there _is_ a distance limit... but it certainly proves useful."

"Useful, my ass!" Deidara snarled. He looked over swiftly at Sai. "Sai- make eight of your choice. I'll make _half_ of that, alright?"

Sai gave him a tight nod and whipped out his scroll, swiftly creating the specified number of creatures. Eight foxes leapt from the page, black and white paws daintily brushing the snow as they bounded forwards to attack Raidan. Weaving back and forth, their speed combined with their agility and bushy, waving tails served to confuse him and occupy him for ten seconds- and ten was enough. There was a flash of white, and a dog bounded among the foxes, hollow holes where its eyes should have been and thick clay replacing fur and bones. Raidan's scythe embedded itself in his back upon one swing and stuck there. Cursing, the man attempted to pull it out, trying to dodge attacks from Sai's foxes at the same time. Now unnoticed, Deidara slipped away, retreating far enough to where he couldn't see what was going on anymore without turning on the second level of his eye scope. Taking a small bird out of his pocket, he tossed it into the air and jumped on as soon as it expanded.

_'Sorry it had to be so soon, Sai.'_ Deidara mentally apologized to his friend. _'But nothing's going the way we planned, and this might be my only chance to get away long enough for this jutsu.'_

Back on the ground, Raidan had finally freed his scythe from the clay dog, and sliced its head off with one edge of his weapon to avoid getting it stuck again.

"I see what you mean, now." Sai said dryly. "You're terrible with swordwork."

"This is a fucking _scythe_, kid!" Raidan snapped. "The hell- you never change! I can't _wait _to bring your body back to the lair and hang it on my wall!"

"I'm flattered." Sai returned. "I never knew I was so handsome as to be displayed like that. Perhaps you should make a fitting title for me, too." He had meant to infuriate Raidan further, but at his comment Raidan suddenly quieted. A shadow of regret flickered across his face, and was gone.

"I gotta say, Sai-chan, I'll miss you. I'll miss chasing you and your friend. I'll miss how much entertainment you two provided me with. It's been a hell of a time, but all good things come to an end. Preferably, a very neat and satisfying one."

Sai was forced back, bit by bit, as Raidan pressed his attack. _'Contradictory to his beliefs, his attack style is extremely messy and brutal.'_ Sai thought as he twisted to avoid a daringly angled slash. _'No form at all, but the unpredictability behind that makes him far more dangerous for it.'_

Above them, there was a distant squelching noise, as if someone were letting mud slide through their fingers onto grass. However, this was on a much larger scale. Raidan looked up, and his eyes widened in alarm. Disengaging, he spun out of the way, just as a stream of clay hit the earth. It changed colour, expanding and shaping itself into a giant... _Deidara? _

"A bomb?" Raidan ground his teeth. "Damn, that thing's huge, I gotta-" A shape came before him, and a foot swung around, forcing Raidan to step back.

"Go?" Sai finished for him, and smiled thinly. "I'm sorry, but we're going down together." Black ink snakes sprung from the snow, wrapping themselves around Raidan and holding him fast. Sai swiftly drew several more, which joined their fellows.

"You're kidding me." Raidan growled, but Sai's face was deadly serious, and he faltered.

"Do I look like I'm joking?" The boy answered quietly. Biting his lip, Raidan looked upwards. The huge clay clone was expanding now, becoming a misshapen monstrosity. Then, with a tremendous _bang,_ it exploded.

A disappointingly small cloud of white dust filtered through the air, with barely a flash to light up the night. Raidan blinked in consternation.

"That was _it?"_ He asked disbelievingly. The ink snakes around him dissipated, sinking into the snow and staining it black.

"No, it wasn't, mm." Deidara's voice rang out. The man was striding their way, hands still together in a seal. "Because that was just the runner-up that set the stage for the main event. That was just a clay display. True art... is an explosion!" A strange, wild light came into Deidara's eyes, and an inane grin spread on his face. "Katsu!"

Raidan's eyes stretched wide. _'My fingers...'_ he thought, holding his arm out. _'No, my hand- my arm- my body!' _Beginning at one end of his limbs, his flesh turned grey and crumbled into dust, swiftly blowing away in the wind. Nearby him, the Sai that had been fighting him all along faded as well, but instead of disintegrating, it melted into ink. _'An ink clone, damnit...'_ Raidan thought even as his face was disappearing. _'They set me up for this all along...'_

No sound was heard but for the howling wind as the last particle of dust vanished into the air.

A patch of snow shifted, and Deidara looked down, waving at it. Sai's head appeared from the snow, startlingly black against the whiteness.

"It's a good thing that you used the C4 this soon. I was beginning to run low on chakra." Sai brushed some snow off of his flak jacket. "Plus, it wasn't exactly toasty down there."

Deidara stared at him in disbelief. Sai saw his stare, and raised an eyebrow. The man broke into a weak laugh, and soon, his partner joined in.

"You're becoming worse than Naruto, mm." Deidara shook his head in mock disappointment. "Cmon, we gotta go tell him that everything's all right, before he comes charging over looking for us."

Sai's smile stretched wider, and relief washed over him in waves. "We've finally done it. We can go back home..."

"Yeah." Deidara grinned. "Back to a place where I can practice my art anytime I want, back to a place where we never have to touch another boat again, back to a place where we don't always have to isolate ourselves... We're going back home, mm!"

"Home?" A raspy voice whispered. It was barely audible, but they both heard it. "That's a laugh... I didn't think outcasts _had_ homes..."

Sai and Deidara stood stock-still, their eyes opening wide with shock. Both of them could see grey dust gathering, changing colour, forming the shape of a tall man with long, platinum blonde hair. However, his robe was in tatters, showing long, flared black pants, black-booted feet, and...

"How... what..." Sai's throat was dry. Where a normal human body should have been, there was a- a _mix_ of things, a framework. There was patches of muscle showing here and there, and patches of burnt skin. But filling in large pieces of Raidan's body was a mass of swirling, purplish-black substance, neither liquid, solid, or gas.

"It's chakra." the man supplied. His voice was weaker and rougher than normal, as if his vocal cords had been damaged. "I admit, I almost died there. Anyone else probably would have... but you see, Sai, Deidara, I'm not anyone else. Even my brother would have been done for. But I, after taking control of so many different victims, have gained such a large storehouse of chakra that it's become a central part of my body. I have some from you too, Sai." Raidan let out a raspy chuckle. He was grinning, at least partially. Some of the dark chakra was filling in for a missing part of his skull, giving him a perma-grin. "I assume you're familiar with the Eight Gates? The eighth of which being located in the heart." He put a malformed hand over his chest.

Deidara's voice was shaky, the epitome of despair. "But... my art... why did it fail? Why did _we_ fail?"

Raidan chuckled softly. "Because, unless that Eighth Gate is struck directly, I can't be killed. If it is, then all the chakra will escape me and I'll die." He threw his arms wide. "Well, congratulations! You two are the first ones to have gotten to part two."

"Part... two?" Sai muttered blankly.

"And now that I can directly access the chakra nature of all those I've possessed so far..." The side of Raidan's face that was still intact was marred by a devilish smirk. "And there you are, wondering how you ever managed to survive this long." Clapping his hands together, he then placed them both on the ground. "Doton: Ganchūsō!"

Snow exploded into the air as many pillars of stone shot from the earth, all heading toward Sai and Deidara. The duo separated, Deidara leaping to his left and Sai to his right. The younger boy dashed up one pillar before it twisted away, jumping to the next to avoid being speared by a third. However, in mid-air when jumping to a fourth, one of the previous pillars curled around and smashed through one of its fellows to try and get at him. Sai couldn't get away in time. He spun around to avoid the worst impact, and the rock pillar slammed into him, sending him crashing against another and then to the ground. He managed to recover fairly quickly, and dropped down low to the ground as Deidara's bird dived from the sky and connected with the main tangle of stone, causing an explosion.

Under the cover of the explosion, neither of them could hear the high-pitched crackling of lightning. Raidan thrust his arms out, sending forth two jagged bolts of lightning that turned into the likeness of wolves. The two beasts darted through the snow and smoke, forcing Sai and Deidara to retreat. One wolf, when clay spiders were tossed at him, swallowed the bombs whole and thus neutralized their power, countering earth with energy. It pounced on Deidara, and was about to strike when an ink tiger barreled into it. Tiger and wolf rolled in a tangled heap to the side. The ink dissipated with lightning flaring around it, both of the unreal creatures vanishing.

Both Sai's and Deidara's breath came in pants. The snow was beginning to taper off, so they could see each other better, but it was a small advantage. Raidan attacked mercilessly, driving them further and further back with a bewildering array of jutsus.

There was an ominous _crack_, and for a moment the three of them froze. They had been moving so far back, that they now stood in the middle of the frozen lake.

Sai let out a startled yelp as the ice beneath him splintered, and he vanished into the dark, freezing waters.

"Sai!" Deidara yelled. Raidan let out a derisive snort as the blonde abandoned the battle and dove in after the boy.

"Taking the battle to the water... not wise, against a lightning user." Raidan muttered, kneeling and placing his hands palms-down on the ice. Energy began to crackle underneath his hands.

As soon as Sai hit the water, all of the breath was knocked out of him. It was startlingly cold, frighteningly cold. With every passing second, he felt his chest tightening, his strokes weakening. _'Why can't I move...?' _He wondered distantly. _'For that matter... do I want to move...? I don't know...'_

There was an explosion of bubbles, and a strong hand grabbed him by the wrist, pulling him upwards. Sai understood Deidara's intentions and tried to help them go upwards, but their progress was slow- the extra layers and flak jackets weighed them down. Deidara looked backwards, and saw an approaching, bluish-white glow.

_'Lightning!'_ he thought. Agitated, he looked at Sai. The boy's eyes were half-lidded and glazed from lack of oxygen. Being younger, he couldn't hold his breath as long as Deidara could. However, the lightning was approaching fast. Coming to a swift decision, Deidara adjusted his grip on Sai so he could hold him with one arm, and took some clay from his pouch, molding it into a small fish. The fish swam off downwards. Using the last of his held breath, Deidara mouthed the release command.

A huge splitting and cracking noise rent the air as the ice of the lake split. A massive wave of water blasted into the air, taking those in and on the lake with it. It crashed onto shore, dumping its cargo of ice and human on the snowy ground.

Sai coughed violently, trying to get rid of the taste of lake water. His sopping wet hair was plastered to the side of his head, making him look much younger. Deidara sat by him, trying to catch his breath.

"Th-thanks." Sai stammered, shivering. He reached out a hand and patted his friend on the back, trying to pass on a measure of warmth. Deidara gave a tiny laugh.

"N-no problem, mm." he replied. "I needed a bath..."

"Y- watch out!" Sai's reply turned into a shout as three consecutive jets of fire came their way, forcing them to separate once more. Raidan charged forwards, something sharp glinting in his hand. With a start, Sai recognized his katana. In his exhaustion, he tripped as the man lashed out, dodging the strike but losing his balance for a crucial second. As he righted himself, a hand hit his chest, palm-out. Sai's mismatched eyes, gold and black, locked onto Raidan's huge black ones, and then the man winked at him. Lightning flared around Raidan's palm, and Sai stiffened, before his eyes closed and he slowly crumpled to the ground.

With a satisfied exclamation, Raidan turned around. Deidara was staring at Sai, his light blue eyes wide.

"Y...you didn't just... Sai!"

"He won't answer you." Raidan's strides were smaller, jaunty even, and he was swinging the katana back and forth lazily. "That lightning jutsu would have shut off his nervous system, and killed him."

There was a ringing in Deidara's ears. "Killed him." The man repeated, and then giggled. "Killed him? And now, you're going to kill me, too? That's hilarious, mm. Sasori-danna always said I was going to die young. But that's funnier, since now two people who weren't supposed to die young did, and I've got to be last, when I should have been first..." The words tumbled out of his mouth without any thought behind them; they were bits and pieces of thoughts and memories jumping to the forefront of his mind. Anger rose in Deidara, and the man stopped talking abruptly and dashed forwards, swinging a fist, wanting for once not the delightful clamour of an explosion, but the gratifying feeling of a strike colliding with another living body. He could see Raidan much more clearly now, the snowfall having stopped completely but for a fine mist of stragglers.

He hardly got far before there was a pressure in his middle, and then a flare of bright pain amongst all the cold. Deidara staggered backwards, hands feebly grasping at the katana piercing his stomach. Sai's sword. _'The one that was supposed to kill our enemy... not used to kill me...'_ Deidara thought, the corners of his mouth turning up ever so slightly. Raidan lunged forwards, drawing the katana out of Deidara's body and throwing it behind him, before taking the blond by the collar of his soaking wet jacket. Deidara's eyelids flickered, and he managed to smirk at his enemy.

"Get your gloating over with..." he muttered. "The sooner I get to join Sai, the better..."

"I just wanted to ask..." Raidan paused for emphasis, relishing the words he was about to say. "How does it _feel,_ to lose one of the best friends you've _ever_ had? How does that feel?"

"It..." Deidara trailed off. "To lose..." His voice shook, and his eyes, which had begun to dim, glittered anew. Suddenly, he blinked, letting a single tear roll down his cheek and raising his head to directly meet Raidan's gaze. "I don't know, mm." he said clearly. "I've never lost one."

Raidan's eyebrows beetled dangerously. "Never lost one?" he repeated. "Precious Sai-kun's dead! Of course you've lost one!"

"No..." Deidara murmured. "He's not."

Raidan was about to argue when there was a tearing noise. Something glinting dark red and silver emerged from his ravaged body, right where his heart would have been.

The grip on Deidara's collar loosened, and the blonde fell to the ground. An intensely trembling hand tried to touch the blade, but never made it. Sai, knees shaky, whole frame shivering, every movement a great effort, withdrew the katana. Raidan's legs gave out from under him, and he fell to his side, snow flying away in puffs as he hit the ground. Sai let out a long breath, and closed his eyes, finally relaxing.

Abruptly, his eyes flew wide open. Agony tore through him, pulsing with each heartbeat.

"What- what's going on?" Sai wheezed, one hand pressed tightly to his heart.

"Fool." Raidan let out a raspy chuckle. The movement of his throat caused blood to pour out even faster, but he didn't care. He was too far gone to care. "There's a side effect with my puppet jutsu that ensures... that the enemy will not benefit fr-from my death. With the sudden disappearance of my chakra... after I die, you'll soon be destroyed too, from the inside. You were doomed... from the moment you struck the killing blow." Sai's lips parted, but no words came out as he stared at his dying enemy. Red coloured the pure snow around him. Raidan's voice, getting weaker and weaker, still emanated a gleeful malice. "Can't heal him now... It's _your_ fault that... your precious _partner's_ gonna die. It's all...your..." He let out a sigh and closed his eyes, but the grin remained.

Sai stared at the corpse, stared at its mocking expression that taunted him even in death.

"No." He whispered. "No- everything was supposed to be all right." His heart seemed to be beating unnaturally strongly. It felt like it was going to burst out of his chest. A wave of despair washed away his initial disbelief. "We were supposed to kill him... and everything would be perfect!" Pain came now, with every heartbeat. He fell forward, hands out in front of him, still staring at the ground. "Deidara..." Gathering his strength, Sai crawled over to his fallen friend, collapsing just inches away. Both of their breaths came in gasps. Deidara turned his head slightly, and gave Sai a weak smile.

"Looks like that... that bastard outsmarted us, Sai, my man." Deidara mumbled. His breath wheezed in his throat. "I'm sorry that... things were this fleeting, in the end..." For a long time, they lay there, staring at the sky. A numb feeling crept over Sai. He wasn't sure if it was the cold of the snow seeping through him or the first touch of darkness.

Everything was silent, muffled by the new-fallen snow. Dawn's first rays of light appeared in the sky, casting a golden sheen upon the drifting, tiny snowflakes. Little puffs of air could be seen whenever one of them took a breath, though the times that frozen mist appeared became fewer and further between.

"Hey, Sai..." Deidara paused, each word labored. He couldn't even gather up the strength to add the habitual grunt at the end of his sentence. Sai turned his head slightly, and their eyes met. Those blue eyes, so recently full of anger and despair, were shining as bright as the light that now gently caressed their faces. "Remember... when..." His voice faded away; he couldn't find any more words to say.

The whiteness of the snow seemed to be growing brighter and brighter. Sai closed his eyes, but the white light was still there. Strangely unfazed by this, he managed to give a simple, wavering smile even as it enveloped him completely.

"Yeah..." Sai murmured. "I remember."

Deidara kept gazing at the boy's face, waiting for him to continue.

"Hey..." he whispered. There wasn't any answer. "Sai..." Reaching out a trembling hand, he touched the hand that lay forlornly near him, almost as pale as the snow itself. It was still warm. The smile was back on Deidara's face, and tiredly he closed his eyes.

_'At least... I don't have to die alone...'_

* * *

I just wanted to say, the story's not finished yet, so please refrain from flaming me until then..

Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up soon.

(And okay, I just have to say this- I know it sounds like the next chapter will be something like their funeral, or the like- but it definitely won't. At the end of this chapter, they're still alive, you know).


	28. Our Lives

**Our Lives**

* * *

Hurried, panting breaths. A party of five people dashed through the woods, at their head a tall, blonde boy in an orange jumpsuit. Their feet barely touched the surface of the snow as they ran, leaving only the slightest imprint. The orange-suited boy skidded to a stop at a small overhang overlooking a large, frozen lake, where the forest came to an end. For a long moment, he said nothing, as if he were just another snow-laden tree. Then, heedless of the cries of the people behind him, he jumped down the slope.

Deidara was conscious of a distant shouting. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut in discomfort.

_'The noise...'_ He thought distantly. _'It's annoying... Just leave me in peace...'_ Yet the person, whoever it was, kept talking to him- to him and someone else, but Deidara couldn't remember who this 'Sai' was. More than that, the loud obnoxious voice brought back feeling to his body, making it remember what pain felt like.

The shadow lifted. Bright morning light came back in full force, along with his memories. Eyes going wide, Deidara stared at Naruto's careworn face. Seeing him fully alert, Naruto kept talking.

"I couldn't help myself, so I went and got reinforcements, but it looks like you two didn't need help." he said, and gave him a wide grin. "You guys scared me."

Deidara shifted his head, and saw a head of pink hair with a red headband tied the middle of it. The head lifted, revealing two very familiar green eyes.

"Relax," Sakura said soothingly. "It's over now." Her hands were hovering over his chest, a comforting green glow around them. Deidara let his head fall back onto its pillow of snow.

"Sai..." he muttered. "Is he...safe?"

A shadow passed over Naruto's eyes, and for a moment Sakura's healing jutsu faltered.

"He's already being taken back to Konoha." Naruto told him with false cheerfulness. "Just focus on getting better, alright? Soon as you're able to travel, we'll follow them."

* * *

Naruto charged up one flight of stairs after another, cheeks still pink from the wintry air. Turning left, he took one step up, and found himself right behind someone.

"Whoa!" Naruto cried, taking one step down. He recovered quickly, but the man in front of him kept going as if he hadn't heard anything. His steps were slow and meandering, hand resting loosely on the railing. His blonde hair tumbled down his back, unbound by any ties or braid, and as such it took Naruto a moment before he realized who he had almost knocked down. "Hey, Deidara! Are you coming to visit Sai, too?" he bounded up the stairs and then slowed to match his friend's pace.

"There's no point..." Deidara muttered quietly. "That spy you had here who was under Raidan's control died. It's only a matter of time before Sai does, too..."

Naruto paused momentarily, the words hitting him like a tidal wave. "But Iruka's okay, and Raidan was controlling him for a while, too. He made a full recovery!." He protested.

Deidara's eyes were dull and faded, staring blankly at the stairs beneath his feet. "He was able to be healed right away. It's going to be too late now, mm. You should have let me die when I had the chance... At least then, I was ready, and then I wouldn't have to live alone agai- ahh!" he broke off with a short, startled cry as Naruto pushed him, sending him crashing against the wall. Deidara winced and grabbed the railing to hold himself up, his slowly healing stomach wound making its displeasure known. However, Naruto didn't apologize. The Jinchuuriki shoved his face right in front of his, glaring fiercely at him..

"Is that what you really believe?" Naruto demanded. "Do you think that you're the _only damn one_ who's worried? Do you think that you're the only one who's upset?" His voice shook. "Do you think I could stand losing _another _friend? The trust you have in us- it's disgusting! I thought you knew Sai better than that. He's not going to just give up on us now, not if we keep visiting him and showing him that there's still something left for him here!"

Mouth set in a thin line, Deidara gave Naruto a tiny nod, and the boy returned it with a small smile.

"I... I'm ready now, mm." Slightly embarrassed, Deidara turned away and kept walking. Naruto followed after him in silence. However, when they reached Sai's room and entered, Naruto almost gave up on his own words as he saw the boy. Sai looked terrible. Both of his eyes were closed, a little bit of hair falling across them. An oxygen mask covered part of his face, clear plastic slightly misting with each breath. If not for that, neither of them would have guessed that he was still alive.

Feeling hopeless, Deidara sat down on the edge of his bed and brushed some of the hair away from Sai's face. There was no response, and his hand dropped limply to his side.

"I should have gone with you guys." Naruto said softly. "Before I left, I talked to Ino... I- I promised her that I'd keep him safe. I could have done something- anything, and everything would be okay. But now, I've let her down."

Deidara glanced sympathetically up at Naruto. "I'm sure she doesn't blame you or anything, mm."

"She doesn't." Naruto replied. "But I wish she did."

* * *

Sakura sipped her tea, trying to rid herself of the chill that threatened to cloud her thoughts. There was a coldness pervading the atmosphere that had nothing to do with the snow piled around the Yamanaka clan's main house. Ino was sitting across from her, legs folded underneath her and still-full cup of tea held in her lap. The other girl's eyes were still red from crying, and every now and then she would rub them furiously.

"He's not getting any worse, Ino." Sakura tried to console her. Her own voice was weary, displaying prominently the many nights she had spent trying to take care of the two injured arrivals. Neither of them had slept at all the past two days, spending their time either in the hospital, or on the training ground, trying to vent pent-up emotions. Rock Lee had been shadowing Sakura for hours on end, stopping her from overexerting herself and making sure she took occasional rests. _'Once I used to think he was annoying for always following me around... but now, I see he really does care.'_ Sakura thought. She had just managed to get rid of him when Ino invited her over. The hyperactive chunin, always so cheerful, had sobered up in light of recent events, and understood that sometimes girls needed girl time. _'But, when I leave, he'll be there. Ino... Ino's got nobody.'_

"But he's not getting any better." Ino sighed. She set her tea aside, hardly glancing at it. "Oh, god... I was praying and praying for them to come home, but not like this. I was thinking, that once they came back, everything would be okay somehow. That they wouldn't have to run anymore, and could stay here in peace, and we'd all live in peace, our lives going back to normal..." The Yamanaka girl broke off with a small sob, and Sakura scooted over, drawing her close. "And- and I was hoping, we'd all be like a family, and... I actually thought I'd marry Sai someday... but now, he's going to..."

Despite her doubts, Sakura put on a soothing tone. "Stop talking like that day's never going to come. It's impossible for it not to."

* * *

Little snowflakes, turned orange in the glow of the lanterns, floated down from the roofs of houses as a strong wind blew them off. However, the skies were clear, letting the bright light of a full moon add its light to the village. People were walking about the town, carrying about their business as usual. Christmas had come and gone, and now the village of Konoha was back to its usual, bustling self.

Deidara gritted his teeth, hand snaking to the pouch at his side before he realized what he was doing and swiftly snatched it away. _'They've no right to be happy.'_ he thought savagely. _'Not today.'_

"Excuse me, sir?" The waitress asked timidly. His head shot up, and he glared daggers at the girl. "W-would you like to order anything?"

"Two green teas would be fine." A new, deeper voice said coolly. Neji slid into the seat opposite Deidara's, giving the waitress a reassuring smile. The jonin was dressed in a traditional long men's kimono, but otherwise he was the same as ever. "You'll have to excuse my appearance, Deidara. I just escaped from acting out in a play."

Deidara eyed him cautiously. "It's no problem." he said at last. "Last time I saw you, you were half-dead after the fight with Sasuke. Healing up well?"

"Yes, thank you." Neji acknowledged. "Just another scar to add to the list, right?"

Deidara gave him a thin smile. "That's the life of a shinobi for you, mm. The lucky ones get away with scars. The unlucky ones..."

"You and Sai must be the lucky ones, then." Neji leaned forwards, placing his hands on the table. "They took him off of the oxygen, after he started showing signs of improvement, and woke up just an hour ago. If things keep progressing the way they are now, he'll be on the road to recovery."

There was a long pause, filled by the distant sound of laughter and a late-night mandolin concert.

"He's- he's okay?" Deidara whispered. Neji nodded.

"Ino's been with him, but I made her go home to sleep before I left. Sai's been asking after you, so I told him I'd come get you."

In a daze, Deidara rose from his seat. "I'll see you later," he blurted, before running off. Several indignant cries arose as people were jostled in the man's haste. The Hyūga sat in silence for a long minute.

"Excuse me sir, but your teas are ready." Two cups of the green liquid were set down on the table, and the waitress blinked in confusion. "Is your friend in the bathroom?"

"No, he had to leave on short notice. You can have his tea- I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

Deidara's heart pounded as he raced through the dark hallways. Occasionally, he passed by a startled nurse, but didn't bother to stop and answer their questions. _'No running in the halls? Hmph, like it matters now.'_ Something inside him was telling him to hurry, though he wasn't sure exactly why. However, as his hand closed around the cold metal doorknob, his footsteps stilled. What waited for him in the room beyond? Neji had said that Ino had talked to Sai, that he was apparently well enough to speak. But what if that changed in the time it took for him to get there?

Shaking off his doubts, Deidara opened the door.

The first thing he saw was a dark, thin shape outlined by moonlight. The curtains were thrown open, letting a shaft of the pale silvery light come through. Sai was sitting up, staring out the window with one hand loosely clasping the other. Deidara noiselessly closed the door behind him, gaze focused on his friend. On the surface, Sai looked normal- almost better than normal, no bruises or cuts remaining on his face, no unhealthy flush or sheen. As Deidara came closer, he saw that Sai's face was more drawn and tired than usual. He seemed like a porcelain doll- seemingly flawless on the outside, but extremely fragile, as if he could break at any moment.

The bed creaked slightly as Deidara sat on it.

"How do you feel?" Sai asked, turning to look at him directly.

"Better." Deidara placed one hand on his stomach and then let it fall. "Can't eat much, though. And you?"

Sai shrugged, and gave him a wan smile. "Better. I'm not going to be fighting any dickless blonde Jashinist villains anytime soon... but eventually, I'll be able to. That is, if there's any left."

Deidara chuckled quietly. "What kind of hell would we live in if there were more people like Raidan in the world?"

Sai smiled, thinking of Naruto, of Ino, of Sakura, Kiba, Neji, Rock Lee, Hinata, Kakashi, Kazu, and Deidara himself. "A pretty good one." he replied. "Because it's the people around us that make living here worthwhile."

The man's blue eyes were soft as he glanced out at the village through the window. "Hey, Sai... All this time, I thought I was fighting for myself, mm. After the war, with so many people stopping by and talking to me, and working with the kids at the school... I realized something. All my life, I've been shunned for who I was. My destructive personality and my destructive art- people hated that. I made my first friend in Sasori-danna, then you, Sai. But this is the first time that I've ever been generally liked by people." Deidara's eyes, when they looked into Sai's own, were full of uncertainty. "I don't know what it's like for you Konoha shinobi... your 'Will of Fire'. I never knew what it was like to be willing to die for a cause, mm." The blonde gave a short bark of laughter. "Hell, I was a pretty selfish brat. But now... I think I know. You don't just die for the village. You die for all of the _people_ in the village, all of your friends and comrades. You die to give them a chance to live. And for the first time ever, when fighting Raidan, I was prepared to do just that."

A light, cold hand was placed on Deidara's shoulder. Startled, the man looked up, to see Sai smiling at him.

"You know what, Deidara?" Sai said happily. "I'm glad that you're- that _we're_ still alive. Dying for the living is only part of it. I don't understand people's feelings that much, but even I know that those left living will always be stuck mourning until it's their own time. Being prepared to was enough." Sai let his hand drop back to his side, and leaned back against the wall, sliding down its length until his head rested on his pillow. "I'm getting tired..." he murmured. "Do you mind staying a while?"

"Not in the least." Deidara answered. "Just make sure to wake up in the morning."

Sai yawned and nodded sleepily, eyes closing. Within moments, his breathing became soft and even. Deidara sat for a while longer, watching him to make sure he was all right. Then, with careful movements, he rose and glided out of the room.

The resident wing of Konoha Hospital's hallways were dark at that time of night. Wishing to avoid any awkward questions, Deidara opened a window and leapt through, landing safely on the ground with a glance up at the moon. One o'clock in the morning. The air was freezing, and the streets were silent. Deidara stuck his hands in his pockets, feet crunching in the layer of snow lingering upon the ground.

Dark shadows shifted back and forth in the small apartment room. Deidara hung up his coat and turned to survey it. Along with Sai's paintings on the walls, he had put some of his own clay models here and there. A clay bird hung from the ceiling, and a centipede ran along the length of the wall, its outstretched legs serving as hooks to hang coats, hats, or scarves. Kicking his shoes off, Deidara flopped down on the couch, pulling a blanket over his body.

_When we first left Akatsuki... I didn't really have hope of seeing another tomorrow. Never getting to see who finally gets to win in the end, never getting to see whether it's our side or theirs going down with a bang. They're still out there... but I've a feeling that they won't try for us again. Not now, not when the stakes are too high. And that's just fine by me.' _Deidara yawned, turning over onto his side. _'Strange thing, peace.'_ he thought sleepily. _'Used to hate it... but now I kinda like it...'_

Snuggling deeper into the sheets he finally was able to find solace in sleep, with the final thought that no matter who won in the end, at least for them, there would always be another tomorrow.

* * *

_**(A/N: Two Years Later) **_

Loud, young voices raised in laughter and excited chatter filled the room. At the head of the classroom, a tall blonde man with his hair drawn back into a long braid sighed, leaning forwards in his chair. A shinobi's forehead protector was tied around his head, holding back his long bangs. Impatiently, he tapped the desk. When the class of seven-year-olds kept talking, his fist came down. Everyone jumped, including the teacher, as the desk cracked ominously. A few splinters of wood dropped down onto the floor.

"Oh, sorry!" Deidara apologized sheepishly. "You all were talking so loud, I wasn't sure how hard to hit the thing!"

"We're sorry, Deidara-sensei!" His students chorused.

"Neh, neh, Dei-sensei, when is he coming? What are we gonna do?" One student called out. He had bright brown eyes, his mop of dark green hair as messy and tangled as ever.

"First of all, Kazu-chan, our visitor's going to give you a haircut, mm!" Deidara wagged a finger at him. "That is, I'll ask him to if you're not patient."

"But Dei-sensei, _you're_ not patient yourself!" Kazu protested. Deidara was saved by replying by a distant barking. A loud voice floated through the doorway.

"Hey- no, wait! It's not time for us yet! Wait! WAIT!"

Three large dogs burst into the room, barking excitedly. Some kids screamed, but with delight instead of fear. One of the dogs leapt on a pink-haired girl, licking her face and hands. The girl giggled, her arms reaching up around the nin-dog's neck to bury her hands in its mane of thick hair. A feral-looking man entered Classroom 5D, dark brown hair wilder than even Kazu's and two bright red markings prominent on his cheeks. A huge, ivory-coloured dog with a ragged tail followed closely behind him, tail wagging back and forth at the speed of light.

"Class, this is Kiba-san, and he'll be-" Deidara's voice was drowned out by the happy shrieks of children at play. The three other dogs had quickly made themselves at home, one giving itself over to the ministration of the girls, letting them put bows in its hair and on its tail. The other two ran around the classroom, playing a multi-species tag. Desks were knocked over and books stepped on, but nobody seemed to notice. Frustrated, Deidara cleared his throat in preparation to shout, but Kiba interrupted him.

"Let it go, Deidara." he said easily. "They're kids. Give them today off- especially today."

Deidara exhaled and grinned at his friend. "You're coming, too?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world!" Kiba sounded affronted. "So how's the job going, _miss_?"

Deidara shook his head in mock disappointment. "Watch it, doggy boy. This time, I'm not in chains, so I can turn you into art any second I want."

"Oh yeah?" Kiba grinned, showing his pointed teeth. "Well, this time _I've_ got Akamaru with me. Against the two of us, there's no way you can win." Akamaru barked in agreement, tail sticking straight up for a minute before returning to its constant wagging.

"I'd take you on any day, but..." Deidara jerked his head in the direction of the children. "Can't in front of the young ones, mm. Personal rule."

Kiba took a seat on Deidara's desk, making it creak in protest. He surveyed the scene before him with a keen eye, noting how even in their excitement in getting to play, basic rules weren't forgotten. A boy, after accidentally knocking a girl over in his haste to tag one of the dogs, went back and apologized. Kazu was kneeling and picking up a stack of books that had fallen on the floor, standing on tiptoe to put them back in their place.

"You've done a good job with them." Kiba absentmindedly stroked Akamaru's head. "To tell the truth, I was just curious to see how you haven't died yet teaching these guys. I'd be miserable if I couldn't go out on missions that often due to having to teach a buncha kids. But now that I can see for myself, this is a pretty good life ya have here."

A desk toppled over, and the two adults flinched.

"Yep, it's a good life!" Deidara chirped, before getting up to go restore order.

* * *

Bright summer sunlight made alternating patterns of light and shadow upon the thick, green grass. Rosebushes intermixed with crabapple trees lined the stone walkways of the garden. Occasional, artfully placed patches of flowers were being carefully attended to by a plethora of honeybees and butterflies. Meanwhile, an odd amount of rice intermixed with pink rose petals that was spilled over the cobblestones of one wide garden path provided a place for birds of all types to feed.

Laughter drifted through the air, along with the sweet, lyrical sounds of a flute quartet. The large path opened up into a small, rose-bush enclosed expanse of grass, where a small crowd of people had gathered. They were all attired in suits and dresses, hair neatly combed (or in some partygoer's cases, with pieces of the unfortunate comb stuck in the wild tangles). A cheer erupted from a number of people watching the dancing going on as Naruto pulled Hinata into the fray, swinging her around and almost losing his tie in the process.

"Yeah, go for it, Naruto!" Yamato cheered, raising his wineglass. Kakashi, standing next to him, impetuously reached up and knocked his own glass against the wood-user's, spilling a little bit of the burgundy liquid onto the ground. "Sempaaii... you made me spill some!"

"It was my _own_ drink that spilled, not yours!" Kakashi protested.

Sai could not help laughing as he spun by the arguing adults, his hands interlocked with Ino's. The Yamanaka was wearing a long white dress that looked like the gentle, flowing petals of a snow-white lily, her dainty feet enclosed in slippers of the same colour.

"You're laughing so much, Sai!" Ino smiled up at him as they stepped sideways. Sai's odd eyes were bright and filled with laughter. He had eventually decided to forgo wearing the eyepatch, when Ino had reassured him that there was nothing to be ashamed about. After all, he didn't require energy when using his other eye, unlike Kakashi and his Sharingan.

"I am?" Sai twirled Ino around, stepping backwards. "I'm sorry, but I just can't help it. I feel as if... I feel as if I'm so happy, I can't stop smiling. My face is beginning to ache since it's not used to using those muscles yet, but I still can't stop. Is that unusual?"

It was Ino's turn to laugh, and her fingers tightened around his, squeezing his hand. "Maybe it is for you, but it's a good thing!"

"Sai!"

The couple stopped, turning around to see Sakura and Tenten waving at them.

"Can you spare us your wife for a minute? We've gotta give her a girl's send-off before we give her to you for good!" Tenten yelled. Ino blushed, but Sai didn't take notice.

"Of course." he replied courteously. "I suppose I'll have to hang out with the men for a while, Ino." Pulling her closer, he kissed her and squeezed her hand again before letting go, ignoring Sakura and Tenten's giggles. "Is that all right with you?"

"Completely." Ino smiled. "Don't worry, I'll be right back." Sai watched her run off and join the two other kunoichi, who then embarked on a mission to borrow Hinata from Naruto.

"Girls..." A familiar voice said behind him. "I'll never understand them, mm."

Deidara walked up to stand beside Sai, outfitted in a suit much like his. The man nudged him and pointed to a smaller path to their left, partially shadowed by a particularly vibrant crabapple tree. Its dark branches were weighed down by a mass of pink and white blossoms, drooping over the entrance to the walkway.

"Wanna go for a walk?" he questioned. Sai shrugged and followed. Soon enough, the sounds of the party faded away, to be replaced by the chirps of birds and the faint drone of pollinating bees. "Well, you were busy earlier, but now I can say congratulations, mm."

"Thanks." Sai looked at Deidara's suit critically. "Your tie is coming loose."

"Oh, damnit." The blonde impatiently pulled at the knot, tightening it to an uncomfortable length. "If I ever get married, everyone can come in whatever they like, none of this fancy crap. Though, I don't know why I'd ever want to get married. I've got enough kids to deal with back at the Academy."

Before he knew it, Sai found himself laughing again.

"What?" Deidara demanded.

"Nothing." Sai said, eyes twinkling. "It's just good to be alive."

Deidara paused, and then his blue eyes crinkled in a smile. "Sure is." he agreed, and for a moment, both of them were lost in fond memories. "Say, how about we go on a mission together tomorrow, just like old times?"

Sai's gaze drifted to the sky. They'd be flying again, on their way to yet more battles. They'd fight, face getting hurt or killed time again and again. But the difference was that now, they could always come back whenever they wanted. They'd never have to leave the village again, for whatever reason.

"Yeah." he replied. "I'd like that."

* * *

Well, thank you all for staying with me so long. I'm sorry if things didn't turn out the way you wanted them to- I had a different ending planned, but I decided against it (actually, I had their deaths planned). I know how disappointing it is following a story then have it go a way that you really dislike, and I'm sorry. I'm not so great at endings, either.

And now that I can focus my time on other things- I'm open for story ideas =) I have a nice one about the team of Naruto/Sakura/Sai forming in my head (yes, with Danzō as the primary antagonist this time, I can't help myself), but I'd appreciate feedback on that- (should I make a poll?)

and once again, thank you for reading! =) For some reason, I feel so happy and sad at the same time... but it's a nice feeling.


End file.
